m 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 


Class 


THE   LIFE 


OP 


Ulysses  S.  Grant, 


|cncrLal  of  tito  lpi$  of  the  Intel 


BY  CHARLES  A.  DANA, 

LATE    ASSISTANT    SECRETARY    OF    WAR: 
AND 

J.   H.   WILSON, 

BREVET    MAJ«R->KNKPAL    U.    8.    A.        ,» 


PUBLISHED  BY 

Garden  Bill  &   Company,   Springfield,   Mass, 

H.    C.   Johnson,    Cincinnati,    Ohio. 

Charles   Bill,    Chicago,  111. 

1868. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

GUBDON  BILL  &  CO., 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.  : 

SAMUEL     BOWLES     AND     COMPANY, 
KLECTKOTVPEKS,  PRINTERS  AND  BINDERS. 


Preface. 


WHEN  so  many  biographies  of  General  Grant  are  an 
nounced  as  about  to  be  published  or  actually  ready  for 
delivery  to  purchasers,  several  of  them  by  writers  of  ac 
knowledged  capacity  and  distinction,  the  authors  of  the 
present  work  feel  that  if  they  do  not  owe  to  the  public 
an  apology  for  their  undertaking,  it  is  at  least  their  duty 
to  tender  a  frank  statement  of  the  reasons  which  have  in 
duced  them  to  engage  in  such  an  enterprise.  First  among 
these  is  the  fact  that  they  have  been  urged  to  do  so  by 
their  excellent  publishers ;  but  this  alone  would  not  have 
been  sufficient,  had  it  not  been  their  fortune,  at  various 
critical  epochs  of  the  War  for  the  Union,  to  be  thrown 
into  the  midst  of  decisive  events,  and  to  see  with  their 
own  eyes,  and  often  quite  intimately,  a  great  deal  that  is 
important  in  history.  In  many  of  these  transactions,  Gen 
eral  Grant  bore  a  controlling  part,  so  that  to  know  the 
facts  was  to  know  the  man.  It  is  hoped  that  the  desire 
to  record  this  knowledge  in  a  manner  somewhat  perma 
nent,  and  to  preserve  the  impressions  gathered  in  the 
campaigns  of  Northern  Mississippi,  and  of  Vicksburg,  the 
rescue  of  Chattanooga,  the  battles  and  marches  of  1864  in 

226516 


iv  PREFACE. 

Virginia,  and  the  crowning  events  which  culminated  at 
Appomattox  Court  House  in  April,  1865,  may  of  itself, 
be  thought  a  satisfactory  motive  for  the  production  of  this 
volume ;  but  to  this  is  to  be  added  the  wish  to  do  justice 
as  far  as  possible  to  a  man,  who,  highly  as  he  is  admired 
by  his  fellow-citizens,  is  not  yet  sufficiently  esteemed  for 
heroic  steadiness  and  courage,  his  transparent  simplicity 
and  honesty,  and  his  profound  and  disinterested  wisdom. 

Another  consideration  which  has  seemed  to  be  of  some 
weight  is  the  fact,  that  most  of  the  biographies,  completed 
or  projected,  are  either  of  a  special  nature,  exclusively 
devoted  to  some  particular  portion  or  aspect  of  General 
Grant's  career ;  or  else  they  are  framed  upon  a  plan  of 
extensive  elaboration  and  exceeding  fulness  of  detail.  It 
has  accordingly  seemed  desirable  that  there  should  be  a 
book  of  convenient  compass,  covering  the  entire  ground, 
and  putting  within  the  reach  of  the  people  in  a  single 
handy  volume,  all  the  information  which  they  naturally 
desire  respecting  this  great  soldier,  sincere  patriot,  and 
naturally  astute  statesman. 

With  these  remarks  the  subject  is  committed  to  the 
candid  judgment  of  the  public. 

NEW  YORK,  April,  1868. 


Table  of  Contents. 


CHAPTER    I. 
THE    GRANT    FAMILY. 

PAGE. 

Grant's  Birth — Lineage — Parentage — Biography  of  his  Father — Ulysses 
Declines  to  Receive  any  of  his  Father's  Property — Note — The  Origin  of 
the  Grants — Characteristics  of  the  Clan, 17 

CHAPTER    II. 
BOYHOOD   AND    YOUTH. 

His  Christening — Boyhood — An  apt  Horseman — His  Industry — Stories 
of  his  Youth — His  Disposition — A  Leader  among  his  Companions — 
Fond  of  School — Aptitude  in  Mathematics — Never  used  Profane  Lan 
guage — Not  fond  of  his  Father's  Tannery — Nomination  for  a  Cadet- 
ship — Singular  Incident  concerning  his  Name, 21 

CHAPTER     III. 

LIFE    AT    WEST    POINT, 

Enters  West  Point — Cadet  Life — Position  in  his  Class — Excels  in  Mili 
tary  Exercises — Surpasses  in  Horsemanship — Escapes  much  of  the 
Hazing  usually  Inflicted  upon  new  Cadets — Does  not  approve  of  Bois 
terous  Pranks  common  among  Cadets  —  On  Leave  of  Absence — Re 
turns  to  West  Point — Makes  the  usual  Expeditions  to  Benny  Havens — 
Is  not  Induced  to  taste  Liquor  nqr  Smoke — Amusements — Not  Enthu 
siastic—Submits  readily  to  Discipline — Captain  Smith — Professors — 
Course  of  Instruction — Class-mates — Reflections  on  the  Education  of 
West  Point — Scholarship — Graduates  Twenty-first  in  his  Class, 27 

•       CHAPTER    IV. 
THE    MEXICAN    WAR. 

Appointed  Brevet  Second  Lieutenant — The  Three  Months'  Leave  of  Ab 
sence — Reports  for  Duty — Regiment  at  Jefferson  Barracks — At  Natchi- 
toches,  La. — Government  Policy  towards  Texas — Duties  as  a  Subal 
tern — Fourth  Infantry  joins  the  Army  of  Observation — Promoted  to 
full  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant  in  Seventh  Infantry — Remains  with  his 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Comrades  of  the  Fourth— Participates  in  the  Battles  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca 
dc  las  Palmas  and  Monterey — Noticeable  Coolness  and  Gallantry — 
Characteristic  Spirit  of  the  Troops — Grant's  Regiment  joins  Scott — At 
the  Siege  and  Capture  of  Vera  Cruz — Grant  appointed  Regimental 
Quartermaster — Goes  into  action  with  his  Regiment — Takes  gallant 
part  at  Cerro  Gordo — At  the  Capture  of  San-Antonio  and  Battle  of 
Churubusco — Conspicuous  Bravery  at  El  Molino  del  Rey — Full  grade 
of  First  Lieutenant — At  the  Storming  of  Chapultepec — Capture  of  the 
City  of  Mexico — Breveted  Captain — Summary  of  his  Services — Married 
at  St  Louis — Stationed  at  Sackett's  Harbor  and  Detroit — Accompanies 
his  Regiment  to  California — Serves  in  Oregon — Promoted  to  be  Captain 
— Resigns,  and  returns  to  St.  Louis 31 

CHAPTER     Y. 

GRANT   IN    CIVIL    LIFE. 

Settles  upon  a  Farm — Anecdotes — Establishes  a  Real  Estate  Office  in 
St.  Louis — Position  in  the  Custom  House — Joins  his  Brothers  in  busi 
ness  at  Galena — Outbreak  of  the  Rebellion, 37 

CHAPTER     VI. 
FIRST    DAYS    OF    THE    WAR. 

Grant's  Political  Opinions — Determined  Loyalty — The  President  calls  for 
Seventy-five  thousand  Men — Grant  drills  a  Company  at  Galena — Takes 
it  to  Springfield — Offers  his  Services  to  the  War  Department — Writes 
McClellan  at  Cincinnati — Assists  in  the  Organization  of  Illinois  Troops — 
Appointed  Colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteers — Marches  his 
Command  towards  Quincy — Official  Report  of  March  and  Services  in 
Missouri— Appointed  Brigadier-General — Ordered  to  Cairo — Polk  at 
Columbus— Bragg  at  Bowling  Green — Jeff.  Thompson  in  South-east 
Missouri — Capture  of  Paducah — Overthrow  of  Kentucky  Neutrality — 
Exasperation  of  the  Rebels — Grant  Organizing  at  Cairo — Lieutenant 
Rawlins  made  Assistant  Adjutant-General — Grant  advises  the  Capture 
of  Columbus— Battle  of  Fredericktown — Demonstration  towards  Co 
lumbus—Battle  of  Belmont— Grant's  Coolness— Victory— Influence 
upon  the  Troops, 41 

CHAPTER     VII. 
FORT  HENRY. 

The  Rebels  Concentrate  at  Bowling  Green  and  Strengthen  Columbus — 
Forts  Donelson  and  Henry— Fremont  Succeeded  by  Halleck — Grant 
Confirmed  in  his  Command— Buell  Relieves  Sherman— Halleck  on  the 
Defensive — Grant  makes  a  Demonstration  towards  Columbus — Recom 
mends  a  Movement  against  Fort  Henry — Begins  the  Movement — Cap 
ture  of  Fort  Henry— Conception  of  this  Movement  due  to  Grant,  -  -  -  54 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER     VIII. 

FORT  DONELSON. 

PAGE. 

Bowling  Green  Evacuated — Fort  Donelson  Heavily  Re-enforced  and 
Strengthened — Grant  moves  upon  it — Skirmishing — Investment — De 
feat  of  the  Gun-boats — The  Rebels  undertake  to  Cut  their  Way  out — 
Desperate  Battle — Grant  arrives  on  the  Field — Restores  Order — Anec 
dote — Renews  the  Battle — Smith's  Successful  Assault — Buckner  asks 
for  an  Armistice — Grant  Proposes  to  Move  at  once  upon  his  Works — 
Unconditional  Surrender  —  Grant  made  Major-General  —  Halleck's 
Jealousy, » 59 

CHAPTER      IX. 

THE    BATTLE    OF    SHILOH. 

Fruits  of  the  Victory  at  Fort  Donelson — Nashville  Evacuated — Johnston 
Concentrates  His  Army  at  Murfreesboro — Evacuation  of  Columbus — 
Grant  Assumes  Command  of  the  District  of  West  Tennessee — Sherman 
Succeeds  Him  at  Cairo— Grant  Restrained  by  Halleck — Rebuked  and 
Relieved  from  Command  for  Going  to  Nashville — Charged  with  Insub 
ordination —  He  asks  to  be  Relieved — Restored  to  Command — The 
Rebels  Concentrate  at  Corinth — Buell  ordered  to  Join  Grant — Grant 
takes  Command  at  Savannah—  Concentrates  His  Army  at  Pittsburg 
Landing  —  Strategic  Considerations — Buell  Slow — The  Rebels  Deter 
mined  to  Fall  upon  Grant — Preliminaries  to  the  Battle  of  Shiloh — Grant 
Prepared— Terrible  Fighting — Details  of  the  First  Day's  Operations — 
Arrival  of  Buell— Grant  still  Hopeful— The  Battle  Renewed  next  Morn 
ing—Easy  Victory — Results, 69 

CHAPTER     X. 
IUKA    AND    CORINTH. 

Grant's  Advance  in  Sight  of  Corinth — Halleck  Arrives  and  Assumes 
Command — The  Troops  Dispirited  by  His  Policy — The  Army  Reor 
ganized — Siege  of  Corinth — Grant  in  Unmerited  Disgrace — Advises 
Halleck  to  Attack — Is  Rebuked — Asks  for  Leave  of  Absence — Sher 
man  Counsels  Him  to  Remain — Disastrous  Results  of  Halleck's  Pol 
icy — Corinth  Evacuated — Halleck  Disperses  the  Army  and  Goes  to 
Washington  as  General-in-Chief— Offers  Command  to  Colonel  Allen — 
Grant  Restored— Battle  of  luka— Battle  of  Corinth— Grant's  Order  of 
Congratulation — Summary — Grant's  Generalship — Buell  and  Rosecrans 
Rewarded  for  His  Victories,  : 85 

CHAPTER    XI. 
PREPARATIONS  FOR,  THE   VICKSBURG   CAMPAIGN. 

Grant  Assumes  Command  of  the  Department  of  the  Tennessee — Organ 
izations  and  Re-equipment  of  Troops  Perfected — Necessity  of  Opening 
the  Mississippi  River — Halleck  Opposes  the  Schemes  of  McClernand — 


•  vni  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

McClernand  ordered  to  Illinois  to  Raise  a  New  Army— Dispositions  of 
Grant's  Army — Dissatisfaction  of  the  Kebel  Government — Pemberton 
Assigned  to  Command  of  the  Department  of  Mississippi — Grant  on  the 
Move — Skirmishing— Pemberton  Abandons  his  Camp  near  Abbeville — 
Movements  in  Northern  Mississippi — McClernand's  Expedition — Orders 
Directing  Sherman  to  Move  against  Vicksburg — Colonel  Murphy  Sur 
renders  Holly  Springs— Army  Encamped  on  the  North  Side  of  the  Tal- 
lahatchie— Half  Rations— System  of  Foraging— Specimen  Christmas 
Dinner — Grant's  Order  Dividing  his  Command  into  Corps — Estab 
lishes  his  Head-Quarters  at  Memphis — His  Confidence  in  Sherman's 
Generalship — Sherman's  Operations — Demonstrations  against  Haines's 
Bluff — McClernand  Captures  Arkansas  Post — McClernand's  Insubordi 
nation—Grant's  Magnanimity — Grant  at  Young's  Point — Advises  the 
Government  to  Unite  the  Military  Departments  in  the  West, 93 

CHAPTER    XII. 
THE   REBEL   STRONGHOLD   ON  THE    MISSISSIPPI. 

Site  of  Vicksburg — Difficult  Approaches — Natural  Defenses — Troops  Ar 
rive  at  Milliken's  Bend  —  Failure  of  the  Canal — Yazoo  Pass  Expedi 
tion — Steeie's  Bayou  Expedition — Concentration  of  the  Army  at  Milli 
ken's  Bend,  -  104 

CHAPTER      XIII. 
PORT   GIBSON   AND   GRAND  GULF. 

McClernand  and  McPherson  March  to  New  Carthage — Admiral  Porter 
with  the  Iron-Clads  and  Transports  Runs  by  the  Batteries — Description 
of  the  Scene — Supplies  Arriving — Naval  Fight  at  Grand  'Gulf — The 
Gun-boats  and  Transports  run  Batteries  at  Grand  Gulf— Troops  Cross 
the  River  at  Bruinsburg — McClernand  Encounters  the  Enemy — Battle 
of  Port  Gibson — The  Rebels  Defeated — Evacuation  of  Grand  Gulf- 
Grant  Pushes  Forward  — Base  of  Supplies  at  Grand  Gulf— Halt  for 
Supplies  and  Re-enforcements,  -  110 

CHAPTER     XIV. 
VICKSBURG    REACHED. 

Johnston  Placed  in  Command  of  Rebel  Military  Operations  in  the  South 
west — Pemberton's  Generalship — Grierson's  Raid — Sherman  Joins  the 
Army— Grant's  Plan — Battle  of  Raymond — Capture  of  Jackson — Bat 
tle  of  Champion's  Hill— Capture  of  Stores  and  Munitions  at  Edwards' 
Depot— Assault  and  Capture  of  the  Works  at  Big  Black  River  Bridge- 
Gallant  Conduct  of  the  Troops — Pemberton  Hastens  to  Vicksburg— 
The  Union  Army  Crosses  the  Big  Black— Arrival  Before  Vicksburg— 
Results  of  the  Campaign, 110 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER     XV. 
THE   SIEGE   AND   CAPTURE. 

PAGE. 

Vicksburg  Invested — The  Rebel  Works — Position  of  Grant's  Array — 
Johnston  on  the  East  Side  of  the  Big  Black — The  First  Assault — Its 
Failure — The  Assault  of  the  22d  of  May  —  Great  Bravery  of  the 
Troops — Incidents — Grant  Determines  upon  a  Siege — Troops  Sent  to 
Watch  Johnston — McClernand's  Order — McClernand  Relieved  from  his 
Command — McPherson's  Mine — The  Contemplated  Final  Assault — 
Flag  of  Truce — Meeting  of  Grant  and  Pemberton — Grant's  Terms — 
The  Surrender — Sherman  on  the  March  to  Jackson — Returns  to  Black 
River — Rebels  on  the  West  Side  of  the  Mississippi  River — Fight  at 
Milliken's  Bend — Behavior  of  the  Colored  Troops — Battle  at  Helena — 
The  Rebels  Defeated — Herron  Sent  to  Re-enforce  Banks — Port  Hudson 
Surrenders  on  the  8th  of  July — Ransom  at  Natchez — The  Results  of 
the  Vicksburg  Campaign — Rejoicing  at  the  North— The  President's 
Letter — Grant  Organizing  his  Command — He  Authorizes  Furloughs — 
Public  Dinner  at  Memphis — Grant's  Letter, 127 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
THE   ARMY   OF   THE   CUMBERLAND. 

Situation  of  Affairs  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  —  Rosecrans  at  Chicka- 
mauga — Grant  Ordered  to  Louisville — Meets  Stan  ton  at  Indianapolis — 
Assigned  to  the  Command  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Missis 
sippi —  Rosecrans  Relieved  by  Thomas — Army  of  the  Cumberland 
Besieged  in  Chattanooga — Grant  Telegraphs  to  Thomas  —  Goes  to 
Chattanooga — Bragg  on  Lookout  Mountain — Precarious  Situation  of 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland— Grant  Equal  to  the  Emergency — Re 
possession  of  Lookout  Valley— Sherman  Approaching  from  Memphis — 
Preparations  for  Battle — Bragg's  Message — Battle  of  Lookout  Mount 
ain — Battle  of  Chattanooga — Grant's  Generalship — Note — Organization 
of  United  States  Forces— Organization  of  Rebel  Forces, 138 

CHAPTER     XVII. 
KNOXVILLE. 

Longstreet  Invades  East  Tennessee — Burnside  Attacks  him  near  Lou- 
don — Affairs  at  Campbell's  Station — Cavalry  Fight  near  Knoxville — 
Knoxville  Besieged — Assault  on  Fort  Sanders — Rebels  Repulsed — 
Granger  and  Sherman  Ordered  to  Knoxville — Siege  Raised — Sherman 
Returns  to  Chattanooga  —  Burnside  Relieved  —  Foster  Takes  Com 
mand — Operations  Suspended  by  Cold  Weather — Rejoicing  for  Victory 
at  Chattanooga — Congress  Votes  Grant  a  Gold  Medal — Movement  to 
Revive  the  Grade  of  Lieutenant-General, 153 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
PLANS  FOR  THE  NEXT   CAMPAIGN. 

PAGE. 

Grant  Goes  to  Nashville  to  Perfect  Means  of  Supplying  the  Armies— 
Re-establishment  of  Railroad  Lines  —  Goes  to  Knoxville  —  Inspects 
Cumberland  Gap— Crosses  the  Mountains  to  Lexington — Hardships 
and  Exposure — Returns  to  Nashville — Plans  for  Future  Operations — 
Sherman's  Raid  to  Meridian — Destruction  of  Railroads — Failure  of 
Cavalry  to  Join  Him  —  Banks  not  Permitted  to  Co-operate  —  Grant 
Called  to  Washington, 158 

CHAPTER     XIX. 

GRANT  IN  THE   CHIEF   COMMAND. 

Grade  of  Lieutenant-General  Revived — Grant  Ordered  to  Washington — 
His  Letter  to  Sherman  and  McPherson — Sherman's  Reply — Advises 
Grant  to  Return  to  the  West — Grant  Arrives  at  Washington — Receives 
his  Commission — The  President's  Speech — Grant's  Reply — Visits  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac — Returns  to  Nashville — Assumes  Command  of 
the  Armies  of  the  United  States — Joins  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — 
Reorganization  of  Army  and  Staff— Chivalric  Conduct — Reflections,  -  163 

CHAPTER     XX. 

THE   SITUATION. 

Extracts  from  General  Grant's  Official  Report — The  Eastern  Theater  of 
Operations — Reflections — Failures  of  Former  Commanders — Discussion 
and  Comparison  of  the  Several  Plans  of  Campaign — Butler's  and  Sigel's 
Positions— Unjust  Criticism— The  McClellan  Faction — The  Champions 
of  the  Cause, 170 

CHAPTER     XXI. 

THE   WILDERNESS. 

Lee's  Position  at  Orange  Court  House — Grant  Decides  upon  his  Policy — 
He  Issues  his  Instructions  to  Meade — Meade  Arranges  Details — The 
Army  on  the  Move— The  Position  in  the  Wilderness — Lee  Determines 
to  fall  upon  Grant— Warren  Attacked— The  Onset  Broken— The  Bulk 
of  the  Rebel  Army  in  Front— The  Engagement  at  Parker's  Store- 
Wilson  Encounters  Stuart's  Cavalry — Burnside  Takes  Position — The 
Contending  Armies— A  Remarkable  Field— No  Rule  of  Modern  War 
fare  Applicable— Grant  Decides  to  be  the  Attacking  Party — Lee  also 
Resolute— The  Union  Army  Moves  to  the  Attack— The  Battle  of  the 
Wilderness  — Desperate  Fighting  —  Sheridan's  Operations  —  Reflec 
tions.  187 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER     XXII. 
SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

PAGE. 

The  Rebels  Retire  to  their  Fortifications — The  Union  Army  turns  To 
wards  Spottsylvania — Lee  Fortifies  at  Spottsylvania — Sheridan  in  Quest 
of  the  Rebel  Cavalry — The  Positions  of  Grant  and  Lee — Death  of  Gen 
eral  Sedgwick — The  Assault  of  Colonel  Upton — Grant's  Bulletin  to  the 
War  Department — Continued  Skirmishing — Hancock's  Success — Se 
vere  Fighting — Maneuvering — Sheridan  on  a  Raid — Destroys  Rail 
roads,  Stores,  Etc.,  202 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
BUT  LEU  AND  HUNTER. 

Butler's  Movements  on  the  James — Defeat  at  Drury's  Bluff— Shut  up  at 
Bermuda  Hundred — He  Fails  to  Carry  out  a  Decisive  Policy — Sigel  Re 
pulsed  at  New  Market — He  Retreats — Is  Relieved  by  Hunter — Hunter 
Assumes  the  Offensive — His  Engagenent  at  Piedmont — Advance  to 
Lynchburg — Retires  by  the  Line  of  the  Kanawha  to  Wheeling — Suffer 
ing  of  his  Command — Stampede  of  Hundred-Day  Men — Hunter's  Mis 
take — Sheridan  Ordered  Towards  Charlottes ville  and  Gordons ville,  -  217 

CHAPTER    XXIY. 

ON    THE    NORTH    ANNA. 

Forward — The  Union  Army  at  the  North  Anna — Lee  in  Position — War 
ren  Crosses  at  Jericho — Hancock  Captures  County  Bridge — Three 
Corps  cross  the  River — The  Rebel  Position  Impregnable — Preparing 
for  a  New  Movement — Sheridan  Rejoins  the  Army — Wilson's  Demon 
strations — New  Turning  Movement  to  the  Pamunky — Details  of  the 
Operation — Lee's  Line — Sheridan  Defeats  the  Rebel  Cavalry  at  Hawes' 
Shop — Grant  Moves  into  Position — Introductory  Engagements — Posi 
tion  of  the  Contending  Armies  near  the  Tolopotomy — The  Attack — 
The  Failure — Grant's  Practice  in  Regard  to  Details — Observations,  -  -  223 

CHAPTER     XXV. 
PETERSBURG. 

Grant's  Plan  of  Operation — Sheridan  Sent  to  Break  the  Virginia  Central 
Railroad,  and  to  Join  Hunter — Battle  of  Trevillian  Station — Gilmore's 
Movement  against  Petersburg — Smith  Sent  to  City  Point— The  Army 
of  the  Potomac  Moves  to  the  Left — Crosses  the  Chickahominy — Cav 
alry  Affair  at  White  Oak  Swamp  and  Riddle's  Shop — Lee  Deceived — 
Pontoon  Bridge  across  the  James — Smith  Sent  to  Capture  Petersburg — 
He  Carries  the  Outer  Line  of  Works — Petersburg  Re-enforced — Further 
Progress  Impossible— The  Army  Across  the.  James— Hancock  Joins 
Smith— Renewal  of  the  Assault— Observations  and  Reflections,  -  -  -  -  235 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

EARLY'S    INVASION. 

PAGE. 

Failure  of  the  Movement  Against  Petersburg — Butler's  Bridge  over  the 
James— Base  of  Supplies  Established  at  City  Point— Preliminary 
Movements  in  the  Investment  of  Petersburg — Wilson's  Raid — Combat 
at  Nottoway  Station — Fight  at  Sappony  Church  and  Ream's  Station — 
Results  of  the  Raid— The  Lines  before  Petersburg— Rebel  Sortie— 
Burnside's  Mine— Joint  Operations  of  Hancock  and  Sheridan  at  Deep 
Bottom— Explosion  of  the  Mine— The  Assault— Grant  Disappointed- 
Faulty  Execution  of  Details— Lee  sends  Early  Against  Washington  — 
Sigel  Retires  from  Martinsburg— Hunter  Ordered  to  Harper's  Ferry- 
Government  Calls  upon  Grant  to  protect  Washington— Sixth  and  Nine 
teenth  Corps  Sent  Forward— Battle  at  Monocacy  Bridge— Wallace 
Retires  to  Baltimore— Early  Moves  on  Washington  and  is  Driven  ofl— 
Wright  Ordered  to  Pursue  Early— Skirmish  at  Snicker's  Ferry— Aver- 
ill  Defeats  the  Rebel  Cavalry  at  Winchester— Sixth  and  Nineteenth 
Corps  Ordered  to  Washington— Early  Again  Advancing  Towards  the 
Potomac— Rebel  Cavalry  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.— Sheridan  Ordered 
North— Grant  Goes  to  Washington— Confers  with  Hunter  at  Mono 
cacy  Hunter's  Instructions — He  is  Relieved  by  Sheridan — The  Mid 
dle  Military  Division  Established  —  Sheridan  Assigned  to  Com 
mand,  245 

CHAPTEK     XXVII. 
SHERIDAN  AND  EARLY. 

The  New  Arrangements  in  Military  Affairs  at  Washington — Sheridan 
Prepares  for  an  Active  Campaign — Joined  by  Torbert  and  Wilson — 
Early  Re-enforced — Sheridan  Falls  Back — Merritt  Attacked — Rebels 
Repulsed — Sheridan  Concentrated  at  Halltown — The  Affair  at  Kerney- 
ville — Grant  Visits  Sheridan — Instructs  Him  to  Go  In — The  Battle  at 
Winchester — The  Engagement  at  Fisher's  Hill — Early  Retreats — Sher 
idan  Falls  Back  to  the  Lower  Valley — Wilson  Ordered  West— The 
Rebels  Routed  at  Tom's  Creek — Sheridan's  Army  at  Cedar  Creek — He 
is  Called  to  Washington— Early  Attacks  the  Union  Troops— His  Suc 
cess — A  Critical  Moment — Sheridan  Rejoins  His  Army — He  Orders  an 
Advance — Determined  Fighting — Rebels  Defeated — The  End  of  Early's 
Campaign— Observations, 258 

CHAPTER     XXVIII. 

SHERMAN. 

Grant's  Efforts  to  Secure  Harmonious  Action— Canby's  Command- 
Results  of  Consolidation — The  Magnitude  of  Grant's  Command — His 
Views  in  Regard  to  Operations  West  of  the  Mississippi  River— His 
Interview  with  Sherman— Sherman  Prepares  for  Active  Operations— 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE. 

Description  of  the  Country  Between  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta — The 
Position  of  the  Enemy  at  Rocky  Face — Thomas  Occupies  Tunnel  Hill 
—Makes  a  Lodgment  on  Rocky  Face  Ridge— The  Failure  of  McPher- 
son's  Movement  Against  Resaca — Johnston  Evacuates  Buzzard  Roost — 
The  Union  Army  Assembles  at  Snake  Creek  Gap — Sherman  Envel 
opes  the  Rebel  Works  at  Resaca— Battle  of  Resaca— Johnston  Falls 
Back  to  Adairsville — Capture  of  Rome — Skirmish  at  Adairsville — John 
ston  takes  Position  at  Cassville — Again  Falls  Back — Sherman  Cuts 
Loose  from  the  Railroad — Battle  at  New  Hope  Church — Capture  of  Al- 
latoona — Establishment  of  a  Secondary  Base  of  Supplies — Sherman  Re- 
enforced  by  Blair— Johnston  Fortifies  at  Lost  and  Kenesaw  Mountains — 
General  Polk  Killed— Sturgis'  Defeat  in  Northern  Mississippi— Battle 
at  Kenesaw  Mountain— Johnston  Falls  Back  to  Smyrna  Camp-Meeting 
Ground— Thomas  in  Pursuit— Johnston  Takes  Position  at  Peach  Tree 
Creek — Rousseau  Interrupts  Johnston's  Communications  —  Sherman 
Again  on  the  Offensive — Johnston  Relieved  by  Hood — Johnston's  Abil 
ities,  266 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

THE    ATLANTA    CAMPAIGN. 

Sherman  Closing  in  upon  Atlanta — The  Gap  in  Palmer's  Corps — Reck 
less  Attack  of  the  Rebels— Repulse  by  Hooker's  Corps— Hood  Retires 
to  Defenses  of  Atlanta— The  Struggle  upon  Leggett  Hill— The  Attack 
upon  McPherson — Death  of  .McPherson — Garrard  Joins  Sherman — His 
Destruction  of  the  Railroad — Howard  in  Command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee — The  Attack  upon  Logan's  Corps — Slocum  Succeeds 
Hooker— Failure  of  the  Cavalry  Expeditions— Stoneman's  Surrender- 
Wheeler's  Raid — Sherman  Throws  his  Army  Across  the  West  Point 
Railroad — The  Attack  upon  Howard — Evacuation  of  Atlanta — Results 
of  the  Campaign—  Hood  Falls  upon  Sherman's  Communications — Pre 
pares  his  Scheme  for  Invading  Tennessee, 284 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
MINOR    MOVEMENTS. 

Forrest's  Movements  in  Northern  Mississippi — Defeat  of  Sturgis — A.  J. 
Smith  Moves  Against  Forrest — Battle  at  Tupelo — Forrest  Defeated — 
Smith  Withdraws  to  Join  Sherman — Forrest  again  Collects  his  Force — 
Captures  Memphis — Driven  off  by  General  Washburne — Forrest  Cap 
tures  Athens,  Alabama — Breaks  the  Railroad  at  Tullahoma — Forrest 
Driven  Beyond  the  Tennessee— What  Forrest  Might  Have  Accom 
plished—Wilson  Assigned  to  Command  the  Cavalryr-He  Organizes 
his  Command — Price's  Invasion  of  Missouri — A.  J.  Smith  Sent  to  Mis 
souri — Price  Attacks  Pilot  Knob — His  Movement  Towards  the  Kansas 
Border— General  Curtis  Prepares  to  Receive  him— Price  Defeated  at 
Big  Blue  River— Canby's  Command— Observations, 293 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

IN   FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG. 

PAGE. 

Strengthening  of  the  Entrenchments  in  Front  of  Petersburg— Early  Re- 
Enforced  in  the  Valley— Unsuccessful  Movements  on  the  North  Side 
of  the  James— Meade  Extends  his  Left— Withdrawal  of  Hancock  from 
the  North  Side— Warren's  Movement  Towards  Petersburg— Strikes 
the  Weldon  Railroad,  and  Fortifies— Rebels  Attack  Warren's  Left— 
The  Affair  at  Ream's  Station— Operations  of  the  Rebel  Cavalry- 
Movements  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  under  Ord — Capture  of  Forts 
Harrison  and  Morris— Birney  Captures  New  Market  Heights— Another 
Movement  for  the  Extension  of  the  Union  Left — Its  Failure — Observa 
tions — A  Period  of  Inactivity — Another  Movement  Against  the  South- 
side  Railroad — Humphreys  Marches  upon  the  Rebel  Right — Rebels 
Attack  Crawford — Humphreys  Entrenched — Repels  the  Enemy's  At-  . 
tacks — Grant  Abandons  his  Effort  to  Reach  the  Southside  Railroad — 
His  Future  Policy,  -----  £99 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE    MARCH    TO     THE    SEA. 

The  March  to  the  Sea — Its  Origin — Hood's  Movement  North  of  At 
lanta — Grant  Suspects  his  Intentions — His  Confidence  in  Sherman's 
Dispositions  —  Jeff.  Davis'  Visit  to  Georgia  — His  Speech  —  Hood 
Marches  Northward — Tears  up  the  Railroad  at  Big  Shanty — Sherman 
Pushes  After  Hood— The  Attack  upon  Allatoona— Sherman  Threatens 
the  Enemy's  Rear— Hood  Captures  the  Garrison  at  Dalton— Howard 
Attacks  Hood  at  Snake  Creek— Wilson  Sent  to  Nashville— Details- 
Sherman  Concentrates  at  Atlanta — Expulsion  of  the  Inhabitants — De 
struction  of  the  Town— Forward  to  the  Sea— Order  of  the  March- 
Foraging— Georgia  Militia— Kilpatrick's  Dash  on  Macon— Skirmish  at 
Gordon— Engagement  with  Wheeler's  Cavalry— The  Arrival  Before 
Savannah— Preparations  for  its  Investment— Capture  of  Fort  McAllis 
ter—Sherman  Meets  Admiral  Dahlgren— Evacuation  of  Savannah- 
Sherman  Announces  his  Success  to  the  President— The  Significance 
of  Sherman's  March— The  Rebel  Mistake— Johnston  Reinstated,  -  -  -  312 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

THOMAS  IN  TENNESSEE. 

Rebel  Policy  of  Invasion— Beauregard  sent  West— He  Reorganizes  and 
Equips  the  Rebel  Troops  at  Corinth— Thomas  Concentrates— Forrest's 
Operations  in  West  Tennessee— The  Capture  of  Jolmsonville— Scho- 
field  Sent  to  Pulaski— Hood  Pushes  Northward— Rebels  Repulsed  at 
Spring  Hill— Cheatham  Attacks  Stanley— Schofield  Concentrates  at 
Franklin— The  Position  of  the  Two  Armies— The  Attack— A  Fierce 
but  Successful  Struggle— Schofield  Falls  Back  to  the  Fortifications 
Around  Nashville— Wilson  Prepares  his  Cavalry— Grant's  Anxiety- 
Thomas  Confident— Plan  of  Attack— The  Battle  of  Nashville— The 


CONTESTS.  XV 

% 

PAGE. 

Rebels  Defeated— The  Pursuit— The  Raid  from  Memphis— Stoneman's 
Movements— Results, 321 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
NORTH   CAROLINA— CAPTURE   OF  JEFF.  DAVIS. 

Expedition  Against  Wilmington— Sailing  of  the  Fl  et— the  Arrival  at  the 
Rendezvous — Explosion  of  the  Hulk — Butler  Chinks  the  Works  Too 
Strong — Grant  Decides  to  Make  a  New  Attempt — General  Terry  As 
signed  to  Command — The  Attack  upon  Fort  Fisher — Gallantry  of  Sail 
ors  and  Soldiers— Arrival  of  General  Schofield— The  Department  of 
North  Carolina — Sherman  Marches  Northward — The  Destruction  of 
Columbia — Hampton's  Criminality — The  Enemy  Concentrated  under 
Johnston — Fight  Near  Bentonsville — Junction  of  Sherman  and  Scho 
field  at  Goldsboro — Stoneman's  Movements — Wilson  Begins  an  Active 
Campaign  —  Capture  of  Selma  —  The  Armistice  —  Capture  of  Jeff. 
Davis — Canby's  Movements — Campaign  Against  Mobile, 337 

CHAPTER     XXXV. 
THE    END    OF    THE    WAR. 

Situation  in  Front  of  Petersburg — The  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  Accom 
plish  its  Own  Task — Mr.  Lincoln's  Views — Grant's  Instructions  to 
Sheridan — Sheridan  Moves  from  Winchester — Defeat  of  Early — Sheri 
dan  at  the  White  Jlouse — lie  Joins  Grant — Grant's  Apprehensions  for 
Sherman  —  Review  of  Operations — The  Finale  Approaching — The 
Orders  for  the  General  Movement — Plans  of  Operations — Lee's  Sortie 
against  Grant's  Right— Lee's  Plan  Foiled— Preliminaries— Battle  of  Five 
Forks — Sheridan's  Success — Rejoicings  in  the  Army — Lee  Decides 
to  Abandon  Richmond  and  Petersburg — Jeff.  Davis  Prepares  for  Flight 
— The  Overwhelming  Assault — A  Fierce  Struggle  —  Lee  Abandons 
Petersburg — Grant's  Army  in  Pursuit — Lee  Attempts  to  Reach  the 
Mountains — Sheridan  Watchful — He  Captures  the  Rebel  Train — Lee's 
Progress  Checked— Correspondence  Between  Grant  and  Lee  — The 
Surrender  of  Lee's  Army — Its  Result — Johnston's  Surrender — Sheri 
dan's  Movement  Towards  the  Mexican  Frontier — Grant's  Opinions  in 
Regard  to  Mexico — Disbanding  of  the  Volunteers — Grant  Promoted  to 
the  Full  Grade  of  General, , 356 

CHAPTER     XXXVI. 
GRANT  IN  THE   WAR  DEPARTMENT. 

Grant  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim — His  Previous  Course  on  Reconstruc 
tion—The  Constitutional  Amendment — The  Reconstruction  Acts — Se 
lection  of  the  Five  Commanders — His  Instructions  to  Them — His 
Reluctance  to  take  the  War  Office — His  Motives  for  Accepting  it — 
Johnson's  Dissimulation—  Condition  of  the  South — Removal  of  Sheri 
dan—Grant's  Protest— Removal  of  Sickles  and  Pope— Difficulties  of 


XVI  CONTEXTS. 

• 

PAOE. 

Grant's  Position— His  Great  Labors  and  Conciliatory  Spirit— Success 
of  His  Administration— Retrenchment  and  Reform  in  the  War  Depart 
ment —  Great  Reduction  of  Expenditures  —  Commendation  of  the 
President— The  Annual  Report  of  Grant  as  Secretary, 379 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 
THE   CONTROVERSY  WITH  JOHNSON. 

Controversy  Between  President  Johnson  and  Grant— Tenure  of  Office 
Act — Johnsqn  Treats  it  as  Valid — The  Senate  Refuses  to  Concur  in 
his  Suspension  of  Stanton — Johnson's  Duplicity — Grant's  Interviews 
with  Him— His  Alleged  Promise— His  Denial  of  it— Question  of  Verac 
ity  Between  Them — Johnson's  Witnesses — Their  Character — Their 
Testimony— Browning's  Statement— He  Sustains  Grant  —  Johnson 
Aims  to  Control  the  War  Department — His  Unlawful  Purposes — Grant 
Explodes  the  Plot  and  Averts  the  Danger— His  Conduct  after  he  Left 
the  War  Department — The  Success  of  Reconstruction  Largely  Due  to 
Grant — His  Course  Respecting  the  Impeachment  of  Johnson — His 
Nomination  for  the  Presidency  by  the  two  Chicago  Conventions — His 
Political  Position, -  388 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

GRANT  AS   A  MAN   AND   A   SOLDIER. 

Popular  Misconstruction  of  Grant's  Character  and  Abilities— His  Pecu 
liarities  and  Virtues  —  His  Physical  and  Mental  Endurance  —  Per 
sonal  Habits  and  Appearance— His  LiberaHty— His  Strict  Regard  for 
Truth  —  Grant  as  a  Soldier  —  His  Courage  and  Resolution  —  As  an 
Organizer — Comparison  Between  the  Organization  of  the  Armies  of 
the  West  and  East— Confidence  in  the  Patriotism  and  Intelligence  of 
his  Soldiers  and  in  the  Ultimate  Success  of  the  War— His  Estimation  of 
Character  in  the  Selection  of  his  Subordinates— His  Character  for 
Generalship  as  Judged  by  Napoleon's  and  Marshall  Marmont's  Rules,  -  398 

CHAPTER     XXXIX. 
IN   CIVIL  LIFE  AGAIN. 

Grant  as  a  Statesman  — His  Military  Genius  Conceded  — His  Civic  Tal 
ents  Disputed— The  True  Theory— Politicians  and  Office-Holders  not 
Necessarily  Statesmen— Grant  Compared  with  Eminent  Civilians— A 
Comparison  with  Soldier-Statesmen,  like  Washington,  Knox,  Jackson, 
and  Taylor— His  Education  and  Mental  Traits  Supply  the  Lack  of 
Experience  in  Civil  Affairs— His  Civil  Services  During  and  Since  the 
War  — Washington's  Discipline  in  the  Revolutionary  Era— Grant's 
Discipline  in  the  Late  Rebellion  —  Such  Convulsions,  Preparatory 
Schools  for  Statesmen— Proofs  of  Grant's  Civil  and  Administrative 
Abilities,  and  of  his  Capacity  as  a  Statesman, 416 


Life  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant. 


CHAPTER    I. 

GRANT'S  BIRTH — LINEAGE- — PARENTAGE — BIOGRAPHY  OF  HIS  FATHER 
—  ULYSSES  DECLINES  TO  RECEIVE  ANY  OF  HIS  FATHER'S  PROPERTY — 

NOTE — ORIGIN   OF   THE    GRANTS  —  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE    CLAN. 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  was  born  on  the  27th  day  of  April, 
A.  D.,  1822,  at  the  village  of  Point  Pleasant,  situated  in  Cler- 
mont  County,  Ohio,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio  River, 
twenty-five  miles  above  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  He  is  de 
scended  from  the  Grants  of  Scotland,  and  possesses  many  of 
the  characteristics  of  that  sturdy  race. 

His  father,  Jesse  Root  Grant,  was  born  in  Westmoreland 
County,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  23d  day  of  January,  1794,  and 
is  the  son  of  Noah  Grant,  Jr.,  who  was  born  in  Connecticut, 
and  served  as  a  Lieutenant  of  militia  at  the  battle  of  Lexing 
ton,  subsequently  sharing  all  the  dangers  of  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  father  of  Noah  Grant,  Jr.,  was  Captain  Noah 
Grant,  of  Windsor,  (now  known  as  Tolland,)  Connecticut, 
a  sturdy,  robust  and  courageous  man. 

He  and  his  brother,  Solomon  Grant,  seem  to  have  been 
highly  honored  and  respected  by  their  neighbors.  Noah 
Grant  commanded  a  company  of  colonial  militia,  called  into 
service  during  the  French  and  Indian  war,  while  Solomon 
served  under  him  in  a  subordinate  capacity.  Both  were  killed 
in  the  battle  at  White  Plains,  fought  in  1776.  Nothing  fur 
ther  is  known  of  the  ancestors  of  the  family  in  this  country, 

except  that  two  of  them,  brothers,  came  to  America  early  in 
2 


;&'*V:  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

the  eighteenth  century,  and  one  is  said  to  have  settled  in 
Canada,  and  the  other  in  Connecticut. 

Jesse  R.  Grant,  whose  father  had  removed  to  the  North- 
West  April.  1799,  lost  his  mother  when  he  was  eleven  years 
old,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  sent  by  his  father  to  Mays- 
ville,  Ky.,  where  he  was  regularly  apprenticed  to  his  half- 
brother,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  tanners'  trade.  He 
served  his  time  faithfully,  became  a  skillful  workman,  and 
soon  after  arriving  at  his  majority  went  to  Ravenna,  Portage 
County,  O.,  where  he  began  the  tanning  business  for  him 
self.  At  the  time  his  father  went  to  that  part  of  the  North- 
Western  Territory,  known  as  Ohio,  there  were  but  a  few 
weak  and  widely  scattered  settlements  in  all  that  region  now 
containing  a  highly  civilized  population  of  over  three  millions. 
The  adventurous  pioneers,  who  had  gone  to  the  frontier  for 
the  purpose  of  subjugating  the  wilderness  and  making  homes 
for  their  children,  found  themselves  beset  by  many  troubles, 
and  continually  menaced  by  sickness  and  danger.  The  In 
dians  were  discontented,  and,  under  the  influence  of  British 
emissaries,  kept  the  country  in  continual  disorder.  Not  till 
after  the  peace  of  1814,  did  it  become  possible  for  the  frontier 
settlers  to  establish  schools,  or  to  devote  themselves  closely  to 
agriculture  and  the  useful  arts,  which  necessarily  preceded 
the  higher  refinement  and  civilization  of  the  present  day. 
The  constant  struggle  which  circumstances  forced  upon  the 
family  of  Noah  Grant  precluded  all  idea  of  giving  the  chil 
dren  a  liberal  education.  Jesse  went  to  school  only  about  five 
months,  but  his  father  being  a  man  of  culture,  gave  such 
attention  to  his  instruction  during  childhood,  as  their  check 
ered  and  unsettled  life  would  permit.  Notwithstanding  early 
disadvantages,  and  a  life  of  great  industry  and  activity,  Jesse 
R.  Grant  has  succeeded  in  acquiring  a  vast  amount  of  inform 
ation  upon  almost  every  subject,  and  is  in  many  respects  a 
remarkable  man.  Blessed  with  a  strong  constitution,  a  robust 
and  stalwart  body,  a  shrewd,  penetrating  and  comprehensive 
judgment,  and  being  honest,  frugal,  industrious  and  persever 
ing,  he  soon  became  prosperous,  and  gradually  extended  his 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  19 

business,  establishing  branches  in  various  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  West.  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work 
to  enter  into  the  details  of  his  long  and  successful  career.  Let 
it  suffice  to  say  that  he  is  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  a  ready 
and  effective  speaker,  and  a  pleasing  writer.  Having  amassed 
an  ample  fortune,  he  gave  up  business  at  the  age  of  sixty, 
leaving  his  sons  Orville  and  Simpson  (the  latter  since  dead) 
to  continue  it.  With  a  rare  degree  of  liberality  he  subse 
quently  determined  to  divide  his  property  equally  among 
his  children,  reserving  only  enough  to  support  himself  and 
wife  the  rest  of  their  days.  Ulysses,  with  a  liberality  still 
more  remarkable,  declined  to  receive  any  part  of  his  father's 
fortune,  forgetful  of  his  own  industry  in  boyhood,  modestly 
asserting  that  he  had  done  nothing  towards  its  accumulation. 

Jesse  R.  Grant  was  married  at  Point  Pleasant,  O.,  in 
June,  1821,  to  Hannah  Simpson,  the  second  daughter  of  John 
Simpson,  a  well-to-do  farmer  and  land  owner,  formerly  of 
Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania.  As  the  name  indicates, 
she  is  also  of  Scotch  origin,  though  at  what  time  the  family 
came  to  America  is  not  known.  Mrs.  Grant  is  described  by 
those  who  know  her  as  a  woman  of  great  steadiness,  firm 
ness,  and  strength  of  character;  an  exemplary  and  consistent 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  from  her  girlhood ;  a  faith 
ful  and  devoted  wife,  a  careful,  painstaking  and  affectionate 
mother,  and  at  all  times  and  in  all  troubles  the  chief  stay  and 
comfort  of  her  family. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grant,  are  now  living  at  Covington,  Ky., 
full  of  years  and  honor,  widely  respected  and  beloved  for 
their  unaffected  simplicity  and  true  worth  of  character. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  offspring  of  such  parents,  should 
be  virtuous,  honest,  and  truthful.  But  if  there  is  anything 
good  in  blood  or  race,  aided  by  judicious  training  and  honor 
able  example,  such  a  family  should  contain  within  itself  a 
model  of  all  that  is  excellent  in  woman  or  admirable  in  man. 

NOTE. — "  Playfair's  British  Family  Antiquity,"  vol.  viii.,  states  that  the  ori 
gin  of  the  Grants  is  somewhat  doubtful,  and  whether  they  were  originally 
Scotch  or  came  from  Denmark  or  France,  cannot  now  be  positively  stated.  It 


20  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

is  probable,  however,  that  they  were  Norman,  and  arrived  about  1066  with 
William  the  Conqueror.  It  is  certain  that  the  clan  had  become  great  and 
powerful  in  the  early  days  of  the  Scotch  monarchy.  Gregory  Grant  was 
"  Sheriff  Principal "  of  Inverness,  between  1214  and  1249.  John  Grant  com 
manded  the  right  wing  of  the  Scotch  army  at  Halidoun  Hill,  1333,  and  was 
defeated.  About  1400,  the  clan  became  divided  into  clan  Chiaran  and  clan 
Allan.  They  held  great  possessions  in  the  Strathspey  country,  and  in  the 
Jacobite  troubles  adhered  to  the  Protestant  and  Whig  cause. 

The  Strathspey  country,  the  original  home  of  the  Grants,  lies  in  the  north 
eastern  part  of  Scotland,  along  the  course  of  the  picturesque  River  Spey,  in 
the  shires  of  Inverness,  Moray  and  Banff,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  beautiful 
scenery  and  noble  forests  of  fir. 

In  "  Collectanea  Topographica  et  Geneologica/  vol.  vii.,  it  is  stated  that 
Lieutenant  General  Francis  Grant  was  buried  in  Hampshire,  England,  Decem 
ber  2,  1781,  and  that  his  monument  bears  as  a  crest  a  burning  mount  with  the 
motto  :  "  Steadfast."  In  "  Fairbairn's  Crests  of  the  Families  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  "  twenty-one  different  crests  of  the  Grant  family  are  given.  One 
of  them  represents  a  burning  hill  with  four  peaks,  each  surmounted  by  a 
flame,  with  the  motto  :  "  Stand  sure  :  Stand  fast :  Craig  Ellachie  ! "  Another 
Grant  had  as  a  crest  an  oak  sprouting  and  sun  shining,  with  the  motto  :  "  Wise 
and  harmless." 

Kobson's  "British  Herald"  gives  twenty-four  crests  of  different  Grants. 
Grant  of  Jamaica  has  a  burning  mount — motto  :  "  Stabit; "  Grant  of  Grant,  a 
burning  mount  supported  by  two  savages— motto :  Stand  sure;"  Grant  of 
Currimony,  a  demi-savage— motto  :  "  I'll  stand  sure ; "  and  Grant  of  Lieth,  a 
rock — motto  :  "  Immobile." 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  regiments  of  the  British  army  in  India  dur 
ing  the  Sepoy  rebellion,  was  a  Highland  regiment  composed  almost  entirely 
of  Grants,  bearing  upon  their  colors  the  motto  :  "  Stand  fast  Craig  Ellachie  ! " 

The  reader  cannot  help  being  struck  by  the  remarkable  description  of 
Grant's  most  noticeable  peculiarities  contained  in  the  foregoing  mottoes  of  his 
sturdy  clansmen. 


CHAPTER    II. 

HIS  CHRISTENING — BOYHOOD — AN  APT  HORSEMAN — HIS  INDUSTRY—1 
STORIES  OF  HIS  YOUTH — HIS  DISPOSITION — A  LEADER  AMONG  HIS 
COMPANIONS — FOND  OF  SCHOOL — APTITUDE  IN  MATHEMATICS — 
NEVER  USED  PROFANE  LANGUAGE — NOT  FOND  OF  HIS  FATHER'S 
TANNERY — NOMINATION  FOR  A  CADETSHIP — SINGULAR  INCIDENT 
CONCERNING  HIS  NAME. 

IT  is  curiously  related  by  Jesse  R.  Grant,  that  soon  after 
the  birth  of  his  first  son,  a  discussion  occurred  in  the  family 
in  regard  to  the  name  which  should  be  given  him.  His 
mother  and  one  of  his  aunts  proposed  Albert,  in  honor  of 
Albert  Gallatin,  at  that  time  a  prominent  statesman.  Some 
one  else  proposed  Theodore,  and  his  grandfather  Simpson 
suggested  Hiram.  His  step-grandmother,  represented  as 
being  a  great  student  of  history,  and  an  ardent  admirer  of 
Ulysses,  as  described  by  Homer,  proposed  that  name.  After 
due  deliberation  he  was  christened  Hiram  Ulysses. 

The  boyhood  of  Ulysses,  as  he  was  commonly  called, 
passed  in  a  comparatively  new  country,  did  not  differ  ma 
terially  from  that  of  other  boys  surrounded  by  similar  cir 
cumstances.  From  a  series  of  interesting  biographical  papers 
by  his  father,  written  for  Mr.  Robert  Bonner  of  New  York,  we 
learn  that  he  began  to  manifest  an  independent,  self-reliant  and 
venturous  disposition  at  a  very  early  age,  and  from  the  time 
he  was  first  permitted  to  go  out  alone,  he  lost  no  opportunity 
of  riding  and  breaking  horses,  driving  teams,  and  helping  his 
father  in  whatever  work  his  strength  and  size  would  enable 
him  to  do.  At  the  age  of  seven  and  a  half  years,  during  his 
father's  absence,  he  harnessed  a  three-year-old  colt  to  a  sled, 


22  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

and  hauled  brush  with  him  for  an  entire  day.  He  became 
accustomed  to  harness  horses  when  he  was  yet  so  small  that 
he  could  not  put  the  bridle  or  collar  on  without  climbing  into 
the  manger,  nor  threw  the  harness  over  their  backs  without 
standing  upon  a  half-bushel  measure.  Before  he  was  ten 
years  old  he  had  got  to  be  a  skillful  driver  and  used  to  do 
full  work  in  hauling  wood,  carrying  leather  to  Cincinnati  and 
bringing  passengers  back  to  Georgetown,  where  the  family 
then  lived.  He  became  a  good  rider  at  six  years  of  age,  hav 
ing  begun  like  most  farmer  boys  by  riding  the  horses  to  water. 
Continuous  practice  makes  perfect  in  horsemanship  as  in  other 
things,  and  long  before  Ulysses  had  reached  his  twelfth  year 
he  could  ride  horses  at  full  speed,  standing  upon  their  backs 
and  balancing  himself  by  the  bridle  reins.  It  is  told  of  him, 
that  he  succeeded  in  riding  the  trained  trick  pony  of  a  circus 
company,  in  spite  of  the  pony's  and  ringmaster's  efforts  to 
dismount  him,  aided  by  a  monkey  which  fastened  itself  upon 
the  head  and  shoulders  of  the  young  rider.  His  quiet  and 
gentle  disposition,  together  with  a  remarkable  degree  of  firm 
ness,  rendered  him  particularly  successful  in  controlling  horses, 
and  in  breaking  them  to  the  saddle  and  harness.  This  he 
always  did  for  his  father,  but  his  fame  soon  spread  beyond  the 
family  circle  and  caused  his  talent  to  be  called  into  requisition 
by  the  neighbors  who  had  troublesome  horses  to  break.  At 
that  time  pacing  horses  were  in  great  demand  for  the  saddle, 
and  to  teach  a  horse  this  gait  required  no  slight  skill  and  pa 
tience.  Ulysses  was  quite  an  adept  in  this  as  in  other  things 
relating  to  horses,  but  from  some  idea  of  pride  he  would  not 
exercise  his  skill  for  money,  although  not  unwilling  to  do 
real  work,  or  go  on  errands  of  business.  One  of  his  father's 
friends  had  a  fine  young  horse  which  he  wished  to  use  as  a 
riding  horse,  but  he  could  not  teach  him  to  pace.  Knowing 
Ulysses'  unwillingness  to  set  about  such  a  task  as  this  for 
hire,  he  engaged  him  to  carry  a  letter  to  a  neighboring  town, 
and  as  the  lad  was  riding  away  called  out  to  him,  "  please 
teach  that  colt  to  pace."  Ulysses  returned  the  horse  at  night 
a  perfect  pacer,  but  having  ascertained  that  the  letter  was 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  23 

simply  a  sham,  he  could  never  afterward  be  induced  to  teach 
a  horse  to  pace. 

Sometime  after  this  incident  occurred,  his  father  took  a 
contract  to  build  a  jail  for  the  county  in  which  he  lived,  and 
Ulysses  agreed  to  haul  the  logs  of  which  it  was  to  be  con 
structed,  on  condition  that  his  father  would  buy  a  certain  large 
horse,  as  a  mate  to  one  he  already  owned.  The  bargain  was 
made  and  the  horse  bought ;  but  the  lad  being  very  small, 
although  then  twelve  years  old,  his  father  had  no  idea  that  he 
could  hold  out  over  a  week  at  such  heavy  work.  A  man  was 
hired  to  assist  him  ;  but  after  a  short  time  he  told  his  employer 
that  there  was  no  use  in  his  following  the  boy  around  any 
longer,  as  he  was  amply  capable  of  driving  and  taking  care  of 
the  team  without  anybody's  help.  After  that,  the  boy  was 
permitted  to  do  his  part  of  the  work  as  agreed  upon,  and  did 
it  honestly  and  faithfully.  One  day,  after  hauling  a  load  of 
logs,  Ulysses  unhitched  his  team,  and  said  to  his  father  that 
there  was  no  use  of  his  going  back  for  another  load,  as  the 
men  were  not  hewing,  and  he  could  keep  up  with  them  the 
next  day ;  besides  that,  there  was  no  one  to  help  him  load. 
"  Nobody  there  to  help  load  ?"  said  his  father;  "  Why,  how 
did  you  load  this  morning?"  "  Oh,  Dave  and  I  loaded,"  re 
plied  the  sturdy  little  fellow.  Dave  was  the  name  of  the  big 
horse  that  he  had  induced  his  father  to  buy,  and  Ulysses  and 
Dave  had  actually  loaded  the  wagon  with  logs,  any  one  of 
which  would  have  been  a  heavy  lift  for  twenty  men.  This 
difficult  task  was  accomplished  in  the  following  way  : — A 
tree  had  been  felled,  one  end  of  which  rested  upon  a  stump, 
and  the  other  upon  the  ground.  Ulysses  hitched  his  horse  to 
the  logs,  and  pulled  them,  one  after  the  other,  across  the  fal 
len  tree,  till  their  ends  were  raised  off  the  ground  sufficiently 
high  to  permit  the  wagon  to  be  backed  under  them.  As  soon 
as  this  was  done*,  he  chocked  his  wagon,  and  made  the  horse 
draw  the  logs  upon  it,  one  at  a  time.  This  seems  to  have  re 
moved  all  doubt  from  his  father's  mind  in  regard  to  his  ca 
pacity,  and  certainly  showed  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity  and 
self-reliance.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  Ulysses  finished  his 


24  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

part  of  the  contract,  which  his  father  had  undertaken,  al 
though  it  continued  for  over  seven  months.  During  the  latter 
part  of  this  time  he  went  to  Louisville  on  important  law  busi 
ness,  which  he  transacted  satisfactorily,  although  he  was  yet 
so  young  and  small  that  the  steamboat  captains  would  not 
allow  him  to  take  passage  without  a  passport  from  his  father. 

At  about  the  age  of  twelve,  he  displayed,  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  that  calmness  and  presence  of  mind  which  has  so 
eminently  characterized  his  career  as  a  soldier  and  general. 
Having  been  sent  with  a  light  wagon  and  pair  of  horses  to 
the  village  of  Augusta,  in  Kentucky,  twelve  miles  from 
Georgetown,  he  permitted  himself  to  be  persuaded  to  remain 
all  night,  in  order  to  take  back  two  young  women  who  could 
not  be  ready  to  start  before  morning.  The  Ohio  River  had 
swollen  rapidly  in  the  meantime,  and  the  back-water  in  "VYhitc 
Oak  Creek,  across  which  his  route  lay,  had  risen  so  much 
that  when  he  reached  it  in  returning,  he  was  surprised  to  find, 
after  the  first  few  steps,  that  his  horses  and  wagon  were  swim 
ming.  The  young  women,  finding  themselves  in  water  up  to 
their  waists,  became  badly  frightened,  and  began  at  once  to 
cry  for  help.  In  the  midst  of  this  exciting  scene,  Ulysses, 
who  was  on  the  front  seat,  coolly  guiding  his  horses  towards 
the  opposite  bank,  turned  to  the  wromen,  and  with  an  air  of 
perfect  assurance,  said :  "  Keep  quiet ;  I'll  take  you  through 
safe!" 

Although  exceedingly  modest  and  quiet,  he  was  fond  of  all 
the  games  and  sports  of  boyhood.  His  resolute  spirit  and 
cool  temper  made  him  a  leader  among  his  companions ;  but 
his  disposition  inclined  him  to  seek  the  society  of  persons  older 
than  himself,  and  this  quality  he  is  supposed  to  have  inherited 
from  his  mother,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  she  had  as  much  the 
deportment  of  a  woman  at  seven  as  most  girls  had  at  twenty." 
Those  who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him  in  man 
hood,  will  readily  perceive  that  he  must  have  been  an  exceed 
ingly  good-natured,  amiable,  patient,  cheerful,  modest  light- 
hearted  boy ;  full  of  courage,  good  sense  and  self-reliance, 
without  a  particle  of  that  disagreeable  self-assertion,  or  ag- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  25 

gressiveness  of  temper  which  would  lead  him  into  difficulty 
with  others.  He  could  read  by  the  time  he  was  seven  years 
old,  and  was  fond  of  going  to  school,  learning  easily  and  rap 
idly  whatever  was  taught,  but  showing  particular  aptitude 
in  mathematics. 

He  had  always  a  peaceable,  and  even  disposition,  without 
any  inclination  to  quarrel,  and  yet  he  would  never  permit 
himself  to  be  imposed  upon,  neither  would  he  stand  by  and 
see  a  little  boy  abused  by  a  larger  one.  His  sense  of  justice 
and  fair  play  would  always  cause  him  to  join  the  weaker  side, 
and  fight  it  through  on  that  line  at  every  hazard.  His  father 
bears  testimony,  in  boyhood,  to  what  many  who  served  under 
and  with  him  during  the  rebellion,  can  assert  with  perfect 
truthfulness;  he  never  used  a  profane  or  obscene  word,  no 
matter  how  great  his  anger  or  provocation.  "  Confound  it " 
is  the  hardest  phrase  he  ever  gave  utterance  to,  but  this  is  an 
ample  vehicle  for  his  wrath,  as  those  can  attest  who  have 
witnessed  its  blighting  effect  upon  those  who  have  called  it 
forth. 

Although  a  very  industrious  boy,  he  was  never  fond  of 
working  in  his  father's  tannery ;  the  beam-room  was  particu 
larly  distasteful  to  him,  and  as  he  preferred  to  drive  the  team 
and  do  the  out-door  business,  he  generally  managed  to  keep 
out  of  it.  By  the  time  he  had  reached  his  fifteenth  year,  he 
had  fully  made  up  his  mind,  and  gave  his  father  warning  that 
he  would  not  be  a  tanner,  but  would  work  at  the  trade  till 
he  should  become  of  age,  though  not  a  day  longer.  He  ex 
pressed  a  desire  to  have  a  liberal  education,  and  to  become  a 
farmer,  or  trader  to  the  States  at  the  South.  Fortunately  for 
the  country,  his  father  did  not  fancy  the  plan  of  allowing  his 
son  to  be  a  farmer  or  trader,  but  sagaciously  suggested  the 
idea  of  sending  him  to  West  Point.  Fortunately,  too,  no 
great  difficulty  was  encountered  in  securing  a  cadet's  war 
rant,  through  the  kind  offices  of  Senator  Morris,  and  the 
Hon.  Thomas  L.  Hamer.  The  last  official  act  of  the  latter 
as  member  of  Congress  was  to  make  the  nomination  of 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  to  the  Secretary  of  War  as  a  suitable 


,  26  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

person  to  receive  the  appointment  of  cadet  at  the  United 
States  Military  Academy. 

It  seems  that  when  his  father  solicited  his  appointment  as 
cadet,  he  designated  him  as  Ulysses,  and  that  the  member  of 
Congress  who  made  the  nomination,  knowing  that  his  moth 
er's  maiden  name  was  Simpson,  and  perhaps  that  she  had  a 
son  also  named  Simpson,  sent  in  the  name  as  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  instead  of  Hiram  Ulysses  Grant.  As  a  matter  of 
coursexthe  cadet  warrant  was  made  out  in  the  exact  name 
of  the  person  nominated,  and  although  the  young  candidate 
might  have  written  his  true  name  on  the  register  when  he 
presented  himself  for  admission,  it  would  have  probably  re 
sulted  in  his  suspension,  till  the  warrant  of  appointment  could 
be  corrected.  Foreseeing  this  trouble  and  wishing  to  avoid 
it,  he  entered  the  academy  as  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  and  trusted 
to  getting  his  name  set  right  at  some  future  day.  This,  how 
ever,  he  did  not  succeed  in  accomplishing,  but  in  order  that 
there  should  be  nothing  lost  on  that  score,  his  class-mates 
and  comrades,  looking  about  for  a  suitable  nickname,  gave 
him  the  familiar  appellation  of  Sam,  which  was  often  ex 
panded  into  Uncle  Sam.  Since  arriving  at  the  age  of  man 
hood,  he  has  not  regarded  the  S.  in  his  name  as  having  any 
signification  whatever. 


CHAPTEK    III. 

ENTERS  WEST  POINT — CADET  LIFE — POSITION  IN  HIS  CLASS — EXCELS 
IN  MILITARY  EXERCISES — SURPASSES  IN  HORSEMANSHIP — ESCAPES 
MUCH  OF  THE  HAZING  USUALLY  INFLICTED  UPON  NEW  CADETS  — 
DOES  NOT  APPROVE  OF  BOISTEROUS  PRANKS  COMMON  AMONGST 
CADETS — ON  LEAVE  OF  ABSENCE — RETURNS  TO  WEST  POINT — 
MAKES  THE  USUAL  EXPEDITIONS  TO  BENNY  HAVENS* — IS  NOT  IN 
DUCED  TO  TASTE  LIQUOR  NOR  SMOKE — AMUSEMENTS — NOT  ENTHU 
SIASTIC — SUBMITS  READILY  TO  DISCIPLINE — CAPTAIN  SMITH  —  PRO 
FESSORS — COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION — CLASS-MATES — REFLECTIONS 
ON  THE  EDUCATION  OF  WEST  POINT — SCHOLARSHIP — GRADUATES 
TWENTY-FIRST  IN  HIS  CLASS. 

ON  the  1st  day  of  July,  1839,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,*  then 
about  seventeen  years  of  age  and  slightly  above  five  feet  in 
hight,  was  regularly  enrolled  amongst  the  cadets  at  the  Mili 
tary  Academy.  Although  his  previous  education  had  not 
been  conducted  with  any  special  reference  to  the  requirements 
of  West  Point,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  passing  a  searching 
preliminary  examination  in  reading,  writing,  spelling  and  the 
ground  rules  of  arithmetic.  The  battalion  of  cadets  having 
removed  from  barracks  to  the  usual  summer  encampment, 
young  Grant  soon  found  himself  in  common  with  his  class 
mates,  rapidly  inducted  into  all  the  mysteries  of  cadet  life. 
Under  the  skillful  hand  of  a  third  class-man,  who  had  already 
been  thoroughly,  "  set  up  as  a  soldier,"  he  was  rapidly  taught 
the  military  position,  squad  drill,  and  manual  of  arms.  Guard 
duty,  field  artillery,  and  academic  exercises  followed  in  their 
turn.  Having  satisfactorily  passed  the  semi-annual  January 

*  There  were  two  Grants  in  this  class,  "  Grant  E."  and  "  Grant  U.  S." 
The  latter,  as  was  stated  at  the  close  of  the  last  chapter,  was  called  "  Uncle 
Sara,"  and  thus  distinguished  from  his  class-mate. 


28  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

examination,  which  is  usually  fatal  to  the  hopes  of  dull  and 
incorrigible  candidates,  he  subscribed  to  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  United  States,  and  bound  himself  to  serve  the  nation 
honestly  and  faithfully  against  all  its  enemies  and  opposers 
whatsoever.  Grant  did  not  take  a  high  position  in  his  class, 
except  in  mathematics  and  the  kindred  studies, — engineering 
and  military  science.  He  preferred  to  be  at  a  safe  distance 
from  both  head  and  foot,  equally  removed  from  plodding 
wearisome  study,  and  the  danger  of  being  sent  away  from 
the  academy.  He  excelled  in  all  military  exercises,  and  as 
might  have  been  supposed,  surpassed  nearly  all  of  his  class 
mates  in  horsemanship,  and  the  cavalry  drill.  He  had  the 
good  luck  to  escape  much  of  the  playful  hazing  usually  in 
flicted  upon  the  new  cadets  of  that  day,  though  he  doubtless 
received  enough  of  it  to  give  him  a  relish  when  he  got  to  be 
a  third  classman  for  running  it  judiciously  upon  those  who 
came  after  him.  He  was  then  as  now,  cheerful,  amiable, 
good-natured,  and  tender-hearted  to  a  degree  rarely  attained 
by  men,  and  hence  did  not  approve  of  nor  enter  into  the  rude 
and  boisterous  pranks,  so  commonly  in  vogue  among  cadets  ; 
but  in  his  own  quiet  way  he  doubtless  got  all  the  pleasure 
that  the  circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded  would 
permit. 

At  the  end  of  his  second  year,  he  was  granted  the  usual 
furlough  of  two  months,  and,  after  a  visit  to  his  home,  re 
turned  to  his  studies,  with  renewed  vigor  and  determination, 
heightened  by  the  approaching  prospect  of  honorable  gradua 
tion,  at  the  end  of  his  term. 

While  at  West  Point  he  made  the  usual  unauthorized  ex 
peditions  to  Benny  Havens',  but  was  never  induced  to  taste 
liquor  of  any  sort,  nor  to  learn  to  smoke,  nor  to  use  tobacco 
in  any  other  way.  His  fun  was  all  innocent,  and  his  amuse 
ment  only  such  as  might  have  been  expected  to  please  an 
even-tempered,  well-behaved,  and  high-minded  young  man. 
While,  on  the  one  hand,  he  was  not  enthusiastic  in  anything, 
on  the  other,  he  was  always  attentive  to  his  studies,  and 
prompt  and  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  He 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  29 

was  never  at  enmity  with  his  companions,  and  had  no  preju 
dices  against  his  instructors.  He  submitted  readily  to  disci 
pline,  and  was  never  guilty  of  a  wanton  violation  of  regula 
tions. 

During  Grant's  term  of  service  at  the  Military  Academy, 
Captain  C.  F.  Smith,  a  gallant  and  highly  accomplished  offi 
cer,  and  subsequently  an  able  and  distinguished  General,  was 
Commandant  of  cadets.  The  Superintendent  of  the  academy 
and  post  of  West  Point  was  Major  (now  General)  Richard 
Delafield,  to  whom,  after  Colonel  Thayer  of  the  same  corps, 
the  academy  is  more  indebted,  than  any  other  man  for  the 
deservedly  high  reputation  it  has  attained  throughout  the 
world. 

Mahan,  Bartlett^  Bailey,  Church  and  Weir,  were  Professors 
in  the  various  sciences,  and  discharged  their  duties  with  re 
markable  ability  and  fidelity.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  academy  at  that  day  was  under  perfect  discipline,  and 
admirable  administration.  The  course  of  instruction,  com 
prehending  algebra,  plain,  spherical,  descriptive,  and  analyt 
ical  geometry,  differential  and  integral  calculus,  natural  and 
experimental  philosophy,  mechanics,  chemistry,  mineralogy, 
geology,  French  language  and  literature,  rhetoric,  logic, 
constitutional,  international  and  military  law,  ordnance  and 
gunnery,  architectural,  industrial  and  topographical  drawing, 
civil  and  military  engineering,  besides  the  practical  duties  of 
infantry,  artillery,  cavalry  and  engineer  troops,  was  thoroughly 
and  rigorously  taught.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  Grant  had 

O  J  O 

such  men  as  Sherman,  Thomas,  Meade,  Humphreys  and  Wil 
liam  F.  Smith,  for  his  cotemporaries,  and  Franklin,  Ingalls, 
Reynolds,  Augur,  Ripley,  Gardner,  and  others  afterwards 
distinguished  in  both  the  national  and  confederate  armies,  as 
class-mates,  and  that  out  of  a  class  of  over  one  hundred,  only 
thirty-nine  succeeded  in  graduating,  it  may  be  fairly  assumed 
that  his  scholarship  was  of  no  mean  order.  It  has  come  to 
be  too  much  the  fashion  to  deny  the  graduates  of  West  Point 
the  credit  of  being  well  educated,  because  they  do  not  as  a 
class  excel  in  oratory,  the  intricacies  of  statute  law,  nor  un- 


30  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

derstand  the  mazes  of  commercial  and  financial  affairs.  It  is 
difficult  to  see  how  any  man  can  go  through  with  the  course 
of  studies  indicated  above,  without  having  his  mind  so  disci 
plined  as  to  render  him  capable  of  performing  creditably  the 
duties  of  any  position  in  either  civil  or  military  life.  Grant 
graduated  twenty-first  in  his  class,  but  could  have  easily  taken 
a  higher  standing  had  he  thought  it  worth  the  extra  trouble 
it  would  have  cost  him.  It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  it  is 
not  always,  nor  often,  the  head-man  at  West  Point,  nor 
the  first  honor  man  in  the  colleges  at  home  or  abroad,  who 
carries  off  the  first  honors,  or  reaches  the  highest  station  in 
the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life.  Occasionally  a  head-man,  en 
dowed  with  superior  powers  of  comprehension,  aided  by  com 
mon  sense,  and  the  favoring  circumstances  of  life,  has  reached 
like  Lee  and  Johnston,  the  high  places  of  power  and  com 
mand  ;  but  more  frequently  fortune  has  chosen  for  her  favorite 
the  Grant,  Sherman,  Thomas  or  Sheridan,  of  his  class,  who 
left  the  petty  rivalries  of  school-boy  days  to  petty  minds,  and 
from  among  the  ways  before  him : 

— "  Chose  considerately 

With  a  clear  foresight  not  a  blindfold  courage, 
And  having  chosen,  with  steadfast  mind 
Pursued  his  purposes." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

APPOINTED  BREVET  SECOND  LIEUTENANT  —  THE  THREE  MONTHS' 
LEAVE  OF  ABSENCE — REPORTS  FOR  DUTY — REGIMENT  AT  JEFFER 
SON  BARRACKS— AT  NATCHITOCHES,  LA.— GOVERNMENT  POLICY 
TOWARDS  TEXAS— DUTIES  AS  A  SUBALTERN— FOURTH  INFANTRY 
JOINS  THE  ARMY  OF  OBSERVATION — PROMOTED  TO  FULL  RANK  OF 
SECOND  LIEUTENANT  IN  SEVENTH  INFANTRY — REMAINS  WITH  HIS 
COMRADES  OF  THE  FOURTH — PARTICIPATES  IN  THE  BATTLES  OF 
PALO  ALTO,  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA  AND  MONTEREY — NOTICEABLE 

COOLNESS  AND  GALLANTRY — CHARACTERISTIC  SPIRIT  OF  THE 
TROOPS — GRANT'S  REGIMENT  JOINS  SCOTT — AT  THE  SIEGE  AND 
CAPTURE  OF  VERA  CRUZ — GRANT  APPOINTED  REGIMENTAL  QUAR 
TERMASTER — GOES  INTO  ACTION  WITH  HIS  REGIMENT — TAKES 
GALLANT  PART  AT  CERRO  GORDO — AT  THE  CAPTURE  OF  SAN 

ANTONIO  AND  BATTLE  OF  CHURUBUSCO  —  CONSPICUOUS  BRAVERY 
AT  EL  MOLINO  DEL  REY — FULL  GRADE  OF  FIRST  LIEUTENANT — 
AT  THE  STORMING  OF  CHAPULTEPEC  —  CAPTURE  OF  THE  CITY  OF 
MEXICO — BREVETED  CAPTAIN — SUMMARY  OF  HIS  SERVICES — MAR 
RIED  AT  ST.  LOUIS  —  STATIONED  AT  SACKETT'S  HARBOR  AND  DE 
TROIT — ACCOMPANIES  HIS  REGIMENT  TO  CALIFORNIA — SERVES  IN 
OREGON — PROMOTED  TO  CAPTAIN — RESIGNS  AND  RETURNS  TO  ST. 
LOUIS. 

ON  the  1st  of  July,  1843,  Grant  was  appointed  Brevet 
Second  Lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Army,  and  tempora 
rily  assigned  to  duty  with  the  Fourth  Regiment  of  Infantry. 
Early  in  November  after  the  three  months'  leave  of  absence 
usually  granted  to  the  graduating  class  of  cadets,  which  he 
spent  among  his  friends  and  relatives  in  Ohio,  he  reported 
for  duty  with  his  regiment  then  stationed  at  Jefferson  Bar 
racks  near  St.  Louis.  This  was  the  principal  military  station 
in  the  West,  and  contained  by  far  the  largest  garrison  of  in 
fantry  then  to  be  found  at  any  post  in  the  country.  Constant 
drill  and  rigid  discipline  under  experienced  and  excellent  offi- 


32  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

cers  brought  the  regiment  to  an  admirable  state  of  efficiency, 
and  at  the  same  time  inspired  the  young  officers  attached  to 
it  with  a  high  degree  of  esprit  de  corps. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1844  Grant  accompanied  his  regi 
ment  to  Camp  Salubrity  at  Natchitoches,  La.,  whither  it  had 
been  ordered  for  the  purpose  of  being  in  readiness  to  carry 
out  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  Texas.  Grant's 
duties  as  a  subaltern  here  were  not  dissimilar  from  those  at 
Jefferson  Barracks,  though  the  life  and  surroundings  were 
not  nearly  so  agreeable.  It  was  during  the  year  passed  at 
this  encampment  that  he  smoked  his  first  cigar,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  practice  which  has  since  become  so  eminently 
characteristic  of  him. 

In  the  summer  of  1845  the  Fourth  Infantry  joined  the 
army  of  observation  then  assembling  at  Corpus  Christi  under 
Taylor,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  Mexican  army  men 
acing  that  frontier,  and  while  Grant  was  one  of  those  officers 
not  quite  able  to  perceive  the  justice  of  the  Texas  claim  to 
the  country  lying  beyond  the  Nueces,  he  accompanied  his 
regiment  and  performed  his  duties  with  unswerving  fidelity. 

On  the  80th  of  September,  1845,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
full  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  Seventh 
Infantry,  but  having  become  attached  to  his  comrades  of  the 
Fourth,  he  made  application  to  the  War  Department  for  per 
mission  to  remain  with  them.  This  request  was  granted,  and 
he  had  the  good  fortune  to  participate  shortly  afterwards  in 
the  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  on  the 
8th  and  9th  of  May,  1846.  He  also  took  part  in  the  opera 
tions  of  the  army  under  Taylor,  previous  to  and  during  the 
bloody  battle  of  Monterey,  September  23d,  behaving  with  no 
ticeable  coolness  and  gallantry  whenever  an  opportunity  pre 
sented  itself. 

As  these  battles  were  fought,  against  greatly  superior  num 
bers,  by  a  small  army,  unused  to  warfare  (except  with  the 
Indians,)  every  man  and  officer  was  called  upon  to  do  his  ut 
most,  to  maintain  the  honor  of  the  flag.  Defeat  would  have 
led  to  capture  and  imprisonment.  Victory  was  an  absolute 


LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  8.  GRANT.  33 

necessity,  of  which  every  man  had  become  convinced  by  the 
fate  of  those  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  hence  a  spirit  of  individual  prowess  characterized  the 
whole  army.  The  different  regiments  and  arms  of  the  ser 
vice  vied  with  each  other  in  deeds  which  transformed  them 
into  veterans,  while  officers  of  every  grade  gained  in  a  few 
weeks  more  professional  experience  than  a  lifetime  of  frontier 
service  would  have  given  them. 

Soon  after  the  capture  of  Monterey,  Grant's  regiment  was 
withdrawn  from  the  army  under  Taylor,  and  was  sent  to  join 
Scott,  then  assembling  a  large  force  at  the  Island  of  Lobos, 
for  an  attack  upon  Yera  Cruz,  preparatory  to  his  great  cam 
paign  in  the  interior  of  Mexico.  Grant  was,  therefore,  at  the 
siege  and  capture  of  Vera  Cruz,  March  29,  1847.  Having 
displayed  great  perseverance  and  activity,  both  there  and  else 
where,  he  was  about  this  time  appointed  Regimental  Quar 
termaster,  and  held  the  office,  discharging  all  its  duties  with 
patience,  regularity  and  efficiency,  till  the  army  was  with 
drawn  from  Mexico.  According  to  the  usages  of  the  military 
service  this  appointment  always  excuses  the  officer  holding  it 
from  duty  with  the  troops  ;  and  as  the  Quartermaster  is  re 
quired  to  take  charge  of  trains,  depots  and  equipage,  it  is 
his  business  to  remain  with  them  while  on  the  march ;  it 
also  entitles  him  to  the  privilege  of  doing  so  during  actual 
battle,  if  he  prefers  it.  Grant's  brother  officers  bear  witness 
to  the  fact,  and  tell  it  to  his  praise,  that  he  never  availed  him 
self  of  this  privilege  as  many  others  had  done,  but  made  it  a 
point  to  rejoin  his  regiment  at  the  approach  of  every  battle, 
and  to  stay  with  it  till  the  fighting  had  ceased. 

Acting  in  accordance  with  this  chivalrous  principle,  he  took 
a  gallant  part  in  the  two  days'  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  on  the 
17th  and  18th  of  April.  After  active  operations  were  re 
sumed,  he  took  part  in  the  capture 'of  San  Antonio  and  the 
battle  of  Churubusco,  August  20th.  At  the  splendid  affair 
of  El  Molino  del  Key,  his  bravery  was  so  conspicuous  that  it 
won  for  him  shortly  afterwards  the  brevet  rank  of  First  Lieu 
tenant,  for  "  distinguished  and  meritorious  services ; "  but 
3 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

having  received  in  the  meantime  his  promotion  to  the  full 
grade,  to  fill  one  of  the  vacancies  caused  by  the  casualties  of 
that  battle,  he  declined  the  compliment.  At  the  storming  of 
Chapul tepee,  Grant  volunteered  with  a  detachment  of  his 
company,  and  assisted  in  the  assault  which  carried  the  ene 
my's  entrenchments.  During  the  action  he  took  command  of 
a  mountain  howitzer  and  served  it  with  sach  effect  as  to  ma 
terially  hasten  the  retreat  of  the  Mexican  forces.  His  conduct 
upon  this  occasion  attracted  the  special  notice  and  commenda 
tion  of  his  regimental,  brigade  and  division  commanders,*  and 
following  so  closely  upon  his  spirited  behavior  at  El  Molino 
del  Key  secured  for  him  the  brevet  of  Captain. 

After  the  assault  and  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  in 
which  his  bravery  was  again  conspicuous,  Grant  for  awhile 
became  absorbed  in  the  duties  of  Regimental  Quartermaster. 
His  station  being  in  the  city,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of 
many  of  the  officers  of  our  army ;  and  after  the  declaration 
of  peace  organized  several  excursions  into  the  neighboring 
country  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  information.  He  lost  no 
opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  the  Mexican  people 
and  their  institutions,  and  is  now  one  of  their  firmest  friends. 
He  was  at  this  time  only  twenty-five  years  old,  had  served 
two  years  in  camp  and  garrison  under  the  best  officers  of  the 
army,  had  accompanied  Taylor  in  his  brilliant  campaign  from 
Corpus  Christi  to  Monterey,  and  finally,  in  the  double  ca 
pacity  of  staff  and  company  officer,  had  shared  in  the  labor 
and  honor  of  Scott's  memorable  conquest.  He  took  part  in 
every  battle  of  the  war  except  Buena  Vista,  and  by  zeal,  en 
ergy  and  courage,  distinguished  himself  above  most  of  his 
companions  holding  the  same  rank. 

The  careful  observer  of  character  will  not  fail  to  see  in  the 
foregoing  narrative  ample  evidence  of  Grant's  peculiar  quali 
ties,  as  they  were  more  fully  developed  by  the  events  of  the 
great  struggle  in  which  he  became  the  central  figure.  His 
zeal,  enterprise  and  courage,  were  conspicuous.  His  endur 
ance,  regularity,  and  promptitude  in  the  performance  of  duty, 

*  Reports  of  Major  Francis  Lee,  Colonel  Garland  and  General  Worth. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  35 

gained  for  him  the  notice  of  his  superiors,  while  his  modesty 
and  amiability  made  him  a  general  favorite,  both  among  his 
companions,  and  the  Mexicans  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
After  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico,  Grant  accompanied 
his  regiment  to  New  York  city. 

In  1848  he  was  married  to  Julia  T.  Dent,  eldest  daughter 
of  Mr.  Frederick  Dent,  a  successful  and  widely  known  mer 
chant  of  St.  Louis,  and  after  a  short  leave  of  absence  returned 
with  his  wife  to  Sackett's  Harbor,  where  his  regiment  was 
then  stationed.  ,  He  remained  at  Sackett's  Harbor  till  1849, 
and  in  September  of  that  year  he  was  again  appointed  Regi 
mental  Quartermaster,  which  office  he  held  till  1853. 

In  the  fall  of  1849  his  regiment  moved  to  Fort  Brady  near 
Detroit,  where  it  rested  two  years  and  then  returned  to  Sack 
ett's  Harbor.  In  1852  it  was  sent  to  Fort  Columbus  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  preparatory  to  sailing  for  the  Pacific 
coast,  where  a  rush  of  emigration  was  then  setting  in  toward 
the  newly  discovered  gold-fields,  and  troops  were  needed  to 
protect  the  growing  settlements  from  the  depredations  of  In 
dians.  The  regiment  proceeded  by  way  of  Panama,  but  the 
Panama  railroad  had  not  then  been  built,  and  the  transit  of 
the  Isthmus  was  attended  with  great  difficulty,  and  much  ex 
posure  to  the  hurtful  influences  of  the  tropical  climate.  Dur 
ing  the  passage,  and  after  they  had  reached  the  Pacific  side, 
many  of  the  officers  and  men  fell  sick  and  died  of  fever  and 
cholera,  but  Grant's  rugged  constitution  defied  the  malaria, 
and  enabled  him  to  be  of  great  assistance  to  his  less  fortunate 
companions.  The  cholera  became  so  general  that  the  regi 
ment  could  not  continue  its  voyage  but  was  compelled  to  en 
camp  on  one  of  the  islands  in  the  bay  of  Panama,  where  it 
remained  for  several  weeks.  After  it  reached  Oregon,  deci 
mated  in  numbers,  one  battalion,  including  Grant's  company, 
was  ordered  to  take  post  at  Columbia  Barracks,  near  the 
Dalles  of  the  Columbia  River,  where  it  remained  for  some 
time,  making  occasional  expeditions  against  the  hostile  In 
dians,  in  all  of  which  Grant  took  an  active  part,  adding  to  his 
varied  experience,  and  gaining  useful  information  in  regard 


36  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

to  the  Indian  character  and  the  resources  of  the  neighboring 
country.  In  August,  1853,  while  on  duty  at  Fort  Vancouver 
he  was  promoted  to  the  full  rank  of  Captain,  and  shortly  after 
wards  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Fort  Ilumboldt, 
on  the  northern  coast  of  California.  lie  remained  at  the  lat 
ter  place  about  a  year,  but  seeing  no  chance  of  further  pro 
motion,  and  having  nothing  to  compensate  him  for  separation 
from  his  family,  but  the  doubtful  pleasures  and  uninteresting 
occupations  of  a  nomadic  life  upon  the  frontier,  he  resigned 
his  commission  on  the  31st  %of  July,  1854,  and  rejoined  his 
wife  and  children  at  St.  Louis,  from  whom  he  had  been  sepa 
rated  for  over  two  years. 


CHAPTER    Y. 


SETTLES  UPON  A  FARM  —  ANECDOTES  —  ESTABLISHES  A  REAL  ESTATE 
OFFICE  IN  ST.  LOUIS  —  POSITION  IN  THE  CUSTOM  HOUSE  —  JOINS 
HIS  BROTHERS  IN  BUSINESS  AT  GALENA  -  OUTBREAK  OF  THE  RE 
BELLION. 


no  fortune  of  his  own  and  with  few  acquaintances, 
and  fewer  friends  in  civil  life,  Grant  was  thrown  at  once  upon 
his  own  resources.  Without  hesitation  he  settled  upon  a 
small  farm  near  St.  Louis,  which  had  been  presented  to  Mrs. 
Grant  by  her  father.  He  threw  aside  completely  the  habits 
of  army  life  and  went  to  work  bravely  with  his  own  hands  to 
better  his  fortune.  His  first  labor  was  to  assist  in  hewing  the 
logs,  and  building  a  house  upon  his  farm.  As  soon  as  it  was 
finished  he  occupied  it  with  his  family,  so  that  he  might  be 
entirely  independent  of  the  world,  as  well  as  close  to  the 
fields  he  intended  to  cultivate.  It  has  been  said  that  he  did 
not  make  a  successful  farmer,  but  that  is  a  mistake,  which 
may  have  arisen  from  the  fact  that  his  farm  was  small,  and 
only  partially  ready  for  cultivation.  Grant  worked  hard  him 
self  and  displayed  excellent  judgment  in  all  that  he  did.  To 
be  sure  his  profits  were  not  large,  at  any  time,  but  they  were 
his  only  dependence  for  the  support  of  his  family. 

He  took  great  interest  in  his  stock,  and  being  really  fond 
of  his  new  occupation,  he  devoted  himself  to  it  with  a  will. 
During  the  winter  season  he  employed  men  to  clear  land,  and 
chop  wood,  and  hauled  it  to  St.  Louis  for  sale,  driving  one 
team  in  person,  while  his  little  son  drove  another,  thus  saving 
the  expense  of  two  extra  hands.  He  ploughed  and  planted 


88  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

in  the  spring,  and  when  the  summer  had  ripened  his  crops  he 
was  the  foremost  hand  in  the  harvest-field. 

Several  years  before  the  war  began,  one  of  his  friends,  hap 
pening  to  be  at  St.  Louis,  heard  that  Grant  was  living  near 
bj,  and  drove  out  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  him.  Calling  at 
the  house,  he  inquired  for  Captain  Grant.  The  servant  who 
answered  his  summons  at  the  door  informed  him  that  the 
Captain  would  probably  be  found  in  the  meadow,  harvesting. 
The  officer  walked  down  to  the  field,  as  the  servant  suggested, 
but  not  discovering  the  Captain,  sat  down  in  the  shade  of  a 
tree  for  the  purpose  of  waiting  for  the  approach  of  four  men 
whom  he  saw  mowing  at  a  distance.  After  a  short  time  the 
mowers  came  abreast  of  him,  and  going  out  to  meet  them  he 
was  surprised  to  find  that  the  leading  mower,  covered  with 
perspiration,  and  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  was  the  friend  for  whom 
he  was  seeking.  It  has  been  said  that  "  the  ways  by  which 
men  get  money  lead  downward,"  and  this  may  be  true  when 
applied  to  the  tricks  of  special  trades,  or  to  the  devices  and 
uncertain  calling  of  the  gambler  in  stocks ;  but  if  every  man 
could  be  induced  to  get  money  by  such  an  honest  exhibition 
of  industry,  the  world  and  our  country  would  certainly  be 
the  better  for  it. 

Grant  was  economical  as  well  as  industrious,  and  if  he 
could  not  make  money  rapidly  for  himself,  he  could  tell  others 
how  to  save  it.  While  living  at  his  father-in-law's,  he  ob 
served  that  all  the  rooms  in  the  house  were  warmed  by  wood 
fires,  in  ample  old-fashioned  fire-places,  and  that  it  kept  one 
man  continually  busy  to  cut  fuel  for  them.  Near  by  was  a 
colliery,  the  owners  of  which  were  paying  fifty  cents  apiece 
for  stout  saplings  with  which  to  shore  up  the  roof  of  their 
mine.  Grant  suggested  that  he  could  cut  and  haul  poles 
enough  in  one  day  to  buy  coal  for  an  entire  month,  and  in 
two  more  to  pay  for  a  grate  or  stove  in  every  room.  This 
was  a  new  idea,  and  a  few  days  thereafter  was  put  into  suc 
cessful  application. 

After  four  years  of  farming,  Grant  resolved  to  try  some 
thing  else.  He  leased  his  farm,  and  removed  to  St.  Louis, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  39 

where  he  established  and  conducted  for  a  short  time  a  real 
estate  office.  Shortly  afterwards  a  situation  was  offered  him 
in  the  custom-house,  which  he  accepted  and  held  till  the  death 
of  the  Collector  brought  a  new  man  into  office,  who  had  his 
own  friends  to  reward.  Being  again  out  of  business,  he 
applied  for  the  position  of  city  engineer,  and  although 
thoroughly  qualified  by  his  military  education  and  practical 
experience  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office,  his  influence 
wad  not  sufficient  to  secure  it. 

Early  in  1860  he  accepted  a  proposition  from  his  father  to 
remove  to  Galena,  and  join  his  brothers  in  the  leather  busi 
ness.  Devoting  himself  with  industry  and  good  sense  to  his 
new  occupation,  he  soon  became  familiar  with  all  its  branches, 
and  achieved  a  fair  degree  of  success.  But  not  being  at  all 
demonstrative  in  his  manners,  nor  inclined  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  he  made  but  few  acquaintances, 
and  those  mostly  among  the  people  with  whom  he  had  busi 
ness.  A  few  of  the  best  citizens  had  broken  through  his 
natural  reserve,  and  discovered  the  sterling  qualities  of  the 
man,  though  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  no  one  then  suspected 
that  the  modest,  quiet,  and  obscure  leather-dealer  would  ever 
become  the  most  distinguished  man  of  his  time. 

When  the  rebellion  was  precipitated  upon  the  country  by 
the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter,  Grant  had  just  attained  his 
thirty-ninth  year,  and  having  been  blessed  with  a  strong  and 
elastic  constitution,  an  equable  temper,  a  stout  and  well-set 
figure,  capable  of  great  endurance,  he  had  passed  through 
the  varied  experiences  of  his  life  with  continually  increasing 
powers.  He  had  not  reached  full  mental  development  with 
manhood,  but  had  increased  steadily  in  mental  and  moral 
stature  by  the  trials  through  which  he  had  gone,  rather  than 
by  the  years  that  had  passed  over  his  head.  He  had  never 
been  a  great  student,  not  even  a  great  reader  ;  but  having  a 
remarkably  retentive  memory,  coupled  with  a  thorough  ap 
preciation  of  all  that  is  practical  and  useful,  he  was  fully  able 
to  grapple  with  whatever  question  might  be  presented  for 
his  consideration.  He  had  neither  whims  nor  hobbies,  neither 


40  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

pet  theories  nor  visionary  schemes ;  but  was  entirely  free 
from  prejudice  of  every  sort,  and,  better  than  all,  he  had 
reached  that  perfection  of  common  sense,  which,  combined 
with  truthfulness  and  steadfast  courage,  is  superior  to  genius. 
Plain  and  simple  in  his  address,  "  with  manners  unspotted  by 
the  world,"  direct  in  his  purposes,  slow  to  anger,  sparing  of 
words  in  public,  free  from  guile  and  shams  of  every  sort,  and 
faithful  in  all  things,  he  was  regarded  as  a  true  friend,  a  good 
citizen,  and  an  honest  man !  Adversity  or  prosperity, — 
whichever  came, — would  find  him  ever  cheerful  and  ready 
for  the  duties  of  life,  no  matter  whether  they  should  lead  him 
in  the  ways  of  peace  or  through  the  dangers  and  trials  of 
war. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

GRANT'S  POLITICAL  OPINIONS — DETERMINED  LOYALTY — THE  PRESI 
DENT  CALLS  FOR  SEVENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND  MEN — GRANT  DRILLS  A 
COMPANY  AT  GALENA— TAKES  IT  TO  SPRINGFIELD— OFFERS  HIS 
SERVICES  TO  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT — VISITS  MCCLELLAN  AT  CIN 
CINNATI — ASSISTS  IN  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  ILLINOIS  TROOPS — AP 
POINTED  COLONEL  OF  THE  TWENTY-FIRST  ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEERS — 
MARCHES  HIS  COMMAND  TOWARDS  QUINCY — OFFICIAL  REPORT  OF 
MARCH  AND  SERVICES  IN  MISSOURI— APPOINTED  BRIGADIER-GEN 
ERAL —  ORDERED  TO  CAIRO — POLK  AT  COLUMBUS — BRAGG  AT  BOWL 
ING  GREEN — JEFF.  THOMPSON  IN  SOUTH-EAST  MISSOURI — CAPTURE 
OF  PADUCAH — OVERTHROW  OF  KENTUCKY  NEUTRALITY — EXASPERA 
TION  OF  THE  REBELS  —  GRANT  ORGANIZING  AT  CAIRO — LIEUTENANT 
RAWLINS  MADE  ASSISTANT  ADJUTANT-GENERAL — GRANT  ADVISES 
THE  CAPTURE  OF  COLUMBUS — BATTLE  OF  FREDERICKTOWN — DEM 
ONSTRATION  TOWARDS  COLUMBUS — BATTLE  OF  BELMONT — GRANT'S 
COOLNESS — VICTORY — INFLUENCE  UPON  THE  TROOPS. 

GRANT,  while  living  at  St.  Louis  and  Galena,  took  no  part 
in  political  matters,  farther  then  to  keep  himself  well  informed 
as  an  intelligent  citizen  should,  of  what  was  taking  place 
throughout  the  country.  Having  been  educated  as  a  military 
man,  and  been  denied  the  opportunity  of  voting  during  his 
service  in  the  army,  he  had  no  bond  of  sympathy  with  purely 
partisan  movements,  and  no  taste  for  public  meetings  of  any 
sort.  From  an  army  acquaintance  with  the  character  and  real 
merits  of  Fremont  or  his  real  lack  of  merit,  he  was  induced 
to  cast  his  vote  for  Buchanan ;  but  before  the  weakness  of 
the  latter  had  actually  enabled  the  secessionists  to  plunge  the 
country  into  civil  war,  Grant  had  become  convinced  that 
his  first  and  only  vote  had  been  a  grevious  mistake.  He  had 
never  been  a  democrat  but  rather  favored  the  moderate  opin 
ions  of  such  men  as  Everett,  Crittenden  and  Bell.  He  hoped 


42  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

that  peaceful  counsels  would  prevail,  and  that  civil  war  would 
be  averted,  but  when  all  the  measures  looking  to  conciliation 
had  failed,  he  was  not  the  man  to  occupy  a  neutral  or  doubt 
ful  position.  Having  been  educated  at  the  national  expense, 
and  repeatedly  taken  the  oath  to  uphold  and  defend  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  against  all  its  enemies  and  op- 
posers  whatsoever,  his  duty  was  too  plain  to  admit  of  a  mo 
ment's  hesitation.  Like  Sherman  and  many  other  former 
officers  of  the  army,  he  was  inspired  by  an  ardent  and  patri 
otic  loyalty  and  therefore  determined  to  support  his  Govern 
ment  and  uphold  its  flag  at  every  hazard. 

Beauregard  opened  fire  upon  Fort  Sumter  on  the  llth  of 
April,  1801.  Four  days  afterward  the  President  issued  his 
call  for  seventy-five  thousand  three  months'  men ;  four  days 
later  a  company  was  enrolled  at  Galena,  and  Grant  being  the 
only  man  in  the  town  who  knew  anything  whatever  of  mili 
tary  matters,  the  duty  of  drilling  this  company  was  naturally 
assigned  to  him;  still  four  days  later,  he  went  with  it  to 
Springfield,  and  reported  to  the  Governor  for  service. 

From  Springfield  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Adjutant - 
General  of  the  army,  offering  his  services  to  the  Government 
for  whatever  duty  it  might  be  thought  his  past  experience 
would  fit  him,  but  to  this  letter  he  received  no  reply.  About 
this  time  he  visited  his  father  at  Covington,  Ky.,-and  while 
there  he  took  occasion  to  go  twice  to  Cincinnati,  where  General 
McClellan,  then  commanding  the  Ohio  militia,  had  established 
his  head-quarters,  hoping  that  his  past  acquaintance  with  that 
General  might  secure  for  him  an  offer  of  employment.  But 
in  this,  too,  he  was  disappointed. 

While  at  Springfield  waiting  for  an  opportunity,  his  knowl 
edge  of  military  organization  and  the  details  of  service  en 
abled  him  to  become  exceedingly  useful  in  the  organization 
of  troops.  Volunteers  were  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the 
State,  calling  for  arms,  clothing,  camp  and  garrison  equipage 
and  instruction  ;  and  although  the  Governor  and  his  staff  of 
military  civilians  did  all  in  their  power  to  meet  these  urgent 
demands,  the  confusion  and  disorder  accompanying  their 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  43 

labors  were  almost  inextricable.  The  want  of  an  experienced 
army  officer  was  severely  felt,  so  the  Governor  was  compelled 
by  force  of  circumstances  rather  than  choice  to  call  upon  Cap 
tain  Grant, — although  on  account  of  his  obscurity  he  had  re 
ceived  him  at  first  with  decided  coldness.  The  ordnance 
department  required  Grant's  first  attention,  the  adjutant- 
general's  next,  and  in  their  turn  all  the  others.  He  had  all 
the  forms  at  his  finger's  ends, — knew  how  every  paper  should 
be  drawn  and  where  it  should  be  sent.  His  information  was 
in  constant  request,  and  when  not  engaged  in  one  of  the 
offices  he  was  called  upon  to  assist  in  drilling  troops.  So 
thoroughly  and  yet  so  quietly  did  he  perform  the  duties  as 
signed  him,  that  before  a  month  had  expired  the  Governor 
had  sagaciously  discovered  his  sterling  characteristics,  and 
lost  no  further  time  in  finding  a  place  for  him. 

Accordingly  when  the  Twenty-first  Regiment  of  Illinois 
Volunteers  arrived  at  Springfield,  in  a  bad  state  of  organiza 
tion,  under  an  inefficient  Colonel  of  their  own  choice,  the 
Governor  declined  to  commission  him,  but  put  the  regiment 
under  the  charge  of  Captain  Grant,  and  a  few  days  thereafter, 
while  Grant  was  absent  at  Covington,  sent  him  the  commis 
sion  of  Colonel.  Nobody  wras  more  surprised  at  this  piece  of 
good  fortune  than  Grant  himself,  for  with  characteristic  mod 
esty  he  had  scarcely  hoped  for  a  higher  grade  than  that  of 
Captain,  and  having  received  but  little  encouragement  even 
in  this  aspiration,  he  had  almost  made  up  his  mind  to  return 
to  Galena.  Accepting,  however,  the  trust  so  fortunately  con 
fided  to  his  care,  he  assumed  command  on  the  16th  of  June, 
and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  regiment  noted  for 
its  excellent  discipline  and  proficiency  in  drill.  In  his  report 
to  the  Adjutant  General  of  Illinois,  he  says:  "Being  ordered 
to  rendezvous  the  regiment  at  Quincy,  111.,  I  thought,  for  the 
purpose  of  discipline  and  speedy  efficiency  for  the  field,  it 
would  be  well  to  march  the  regiment  across  the  country,  in 
stead  of  transporting  by  rail.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of 
July,  1861,  the  inarch  was  commenced  from  Camp  Yates, 
Springfield,  111.,  and  continued  until  about  three  miles 


44  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

beyond  the  Illinois  River,  when  dispatches  were  received, 
changing  the  destination  of  the  regiment  to  Ironton,  Mo.,  and 
directing  me  to  return  to  the  river  and  take  a  steamer,  which 
had  been  sent  there  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the  regi 
ment  to  St.  Louis.  The  steamer  failing  to  reach  the  point  of 
embarkation,  several  days  were  here  lost.  In  the  meantime 
a  portion  of  the  Sixteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  under  Colonel 
Smith,  were  reported  surrounded  by  the  enemy  at  a  point  on 
the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad,  west  of  Palmyra,  and 
the  Twenty-first  was  ordered  to  their  relief.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  expedition  was  necessary ;  accordingly,  the  march 
was  abandoned,  and  the  railroad  was  called  into  requisition. 
Before  the  Twenty-first  reached  its  new  destination,  the  Six 
teenth  had  extricated  itself.  The  Twenty-first  was  then  kept 
on  duty  on  the  line  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad 
for  about  two  weeks,  without,  however,  meeting  an  enemy  or 
an  incident  worth  relating.  We  did  make  one  march,  how 
ever,  during  that  time,  from  Salt  River,  Mo.,  to  Florida,  Mo., 
and  returned,  in  search  of  Tom  Harris,  who  was  reported  in 
that  neighborhood  with  a  handful  of  rebels.  It  was  impossi 
ble,  however,  to  get  nearer  than  a  day's  march  of  him.  From 
Salt  River  the  regiment  went  to  Mexico,  Mo.,  where  it  re 
mained  for  two  weeks;  thence  to  Ironton,  Mo.,  passing 
through  St.  Louis  on  the  7th  of  August,  when  I  was  assigned 
to  duty  as  a  Brigadier  General,  and  turned  over  the  command 
of  the  regiment  to  that  gallant  and  Christian  officer,  Colonel 
Alexander,  who  afterwards  yielded  up  his  life,  whilst  nobly 
leading  it  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga." 

Early  in  August  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  a  Brigadier 
General.  His  name  having  been  suggested  by  the  Hon.  E. 
B.  Washburne,  and  unanimously  recommended  by  the  Con 
gressional  delegation  from  Illinois,  the  President  appointed 
him  to  that  rank  to  date  from  May  17,  1861,  one  month 
anterior  to  his  appointment  of  Colonel  by  Governor  Yates. 
He  was  immediately  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  military 
district  of  Missouri,  including  the  south-eastern  part  of  the 
State,  from  which  it  took  its  name,  Southern  Illinois,  and  all 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  45 

of  the  territory  in  Western  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  then  or 
afterwards  under  the  control  of  the  national  forces.  Simul 
taneously  with  this  assignment  he  was  ordered  by  telegraph 
to  proceed  to  St.  Louis  and  report  in  person  at  the  head-quar 
ters  of  the  department.  In  order  that  no  time  should  be  lost, 
a  special  train  was  sent  from  St.  Louis  for  him — but  when  the 
General  presented  himself  the  same  day  at  head-quarters  as 
directed,  they  were  so  surrounded  by  sentinels,  and  hedged 
about  with  aids-de-camp  in  waiting,  that  he  was  delayed  over 
twenty-four  hours,  before  he  could  reach  the  presence  of 
General  Fremont.  Having  received  his  instructions,  on  the 
1st  of  September,  he  went  at  once  to  Cairo,  where  he  estab 
lished  his  head-quarters,  and  assumed  the  command  to  which 
he  had  been  assigned. 

At  this  time  the  rebels  under  Polk  held  Columbus,  a  strong 
point  commanding  the  river  twenty  miles  below  Cairo,  and  in 
connection  with  Bragg,  at  Bowling  Green,  were  making  vig 
orous  efforts  to  provoke  Kentucky  into  an  abandonment  of  her 
assumed  neutrality.  They  had  also  a  force  operating  in 
South-eastern  Missouri,  under  Thompson ;  they  controlled  the 
Mississippi  River  throughout  its  length,  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio ;  held  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland,  and  seemed 
to  be  looking  to  the  control  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  seizure  of 
Paducah  and  other  strong  points  on  the  western  border  of 
Kentucky.  Perceiving  the  true  condition  of  affairs  almost 
at  a  glance,  and  properly  appreciating  the  strategic  import 
ance  of  Paducah,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tennessee 
and  Ohio  Rivers,  Grant  determined  at  once  to  forestall  the 
movement  which  Polk  had  already  begun  toward  that  point ; 
and  on  the  5th  of  September  he  notified  his  intentions  to 
Fremont  and  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky.  On  the  night  of 
the  same  day,  having  received  no  countermanding  order  from 
Fremont,  and  having  made  an  arrangement  with  Commodore 
Foote  for  a  convoy  of  two  gun-boats,  he  set  out  with  two  reg 
iments  of  infantry  and  one  battery  of  field  artillery,  embarked 
upon  steam  transports.  An  accident  to  one  of  the  transports 
caused  a  slight  detention  to  his  flotilla.  Nevertheless,  it 


46  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

arrived  at  Paducah  by  half-past  eight  o'clock  the  next  day. 
A  small  force  of  rebels,  under  General  Tilghman,  had  reached 
there  before  the  national  troops,  but  fled  upon  their  approach, 
leaving  Grant  to  take  quiet  possession  of  the  town,  and  the 
rebel  stores  already  gathered  there.      Having   disembarked 
the  troops  and  occupied  the  telegraph  office,  railroad  depot, 
and  marine  hospital,  he  issued  a  proclamation,  saying  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  opinions,  and  would  deal  only  with 
armed  rebellion,  its  aiders  and  abettors.     The  same  day  he 
returned  to  Cairo,  where  he  found  permission  from  Fremont 
to  take  Paducah,  if  he  thought  himself  strong  enough.     But, 
in  the  meantime,  Fremont,  had   sent  him,   by  telegraph,  a 
severe  reprimand  for  corresponding  with  the  Kentucky  State 
authorities  in  regard  to  his  contemplated  movement,  and  in 
formed  him  that  General  C.  F.  Smith  had  been  assigned  to 
the  command  of  Paducah,  with  orders  to  report  directly  to 
Fremont's  head-quarters.     As   a  matter  of  course,  Grant's 
promptitude  was  an  exasperating  blow  to  the  disunionists  in 
Kentucky,  and  was  severely  denounced  by  the  rebel  authori 
ties  as  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  neutrality  declared  by  a 
sovereign  State.     Its  effect  was  to  give  the  national  forces 
firm  control  of  the  Ohio  River,  as  well  as  of  the  Lower  Ten 
nessee    and   Cumberland.      At  the    same   time  it  served  to 
unmask   the   real   intention   of  the    rebel   leaders,    while  it 
strengthened  the  hands  of  the  Union  men  in  the  Legislature 
sufficiently  to  enable  them  -to  carry  resolutions  favoring  the 
Union  cause,  thus  putting  an  end  forever  to  the  rebel  fiction 
of  Kentucky  neutrality.     During  the  next  ten  weeks,  Grant 
was  prohibited  from  engaging  in  important  operations,  and 
by  the  order  of  Fremont  was  kept  in  a  strictly   defensive 
attitude. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  capture  of  Paducah,  Smithland,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  River,  was  taken  possession  of 
by  C.  F.  Smith,  acting  under  special  instructions  from  Fre 
mont.  Grant,  in  the  meantime,  was  engaged  in  strengthen 
ing  the  defenses  of  Cairo,  and  in  building  those  at  Bird's  Point 
and  Fort  Holt. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  47 

Cairo  had  come  to  be  recognized  by  the  Government  as  a 
point  of  great  importance.  Being  situated  at  the  extreme 
southern  end  of  Illinois,  thrust  in  between  Kentucky  on  the 
one  hand  and  Missouri  on  the  other,  with  ample  railway  com 
munication  with  the  north,  and  covered  from  attack  by  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  Rivers,  it  was  early  selected  as  a  base 
of  operations  against  the  rebels  in  the  lower  Mississippi  valley. 

New  troops  were  now  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the 
North-west ;  and  while  they  were  filled  with  ardor,  and  in 
spired  by  an  exalted  spirit  of  patriotism,  they  were,  men  and 
officers,  entirely  ignorant  of  warfare.  Here  and  there  was 
an  occasional  soldier  who  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  but 
that  was  a  memory  of  the  past.  Officers  and  men  alike  re 
quired  instruction.  The  task  of  organizing  and  giving  this 
instruction  naturally  fell  to  Grant,  the  commanding  general 
of  the  district.  At  that  time  he  had  not  a  single  trained 
soldier  or  officer  of  the  regular  army  under  his  command, 
and  hence  he  was  compelled  to  direct  everything  in  person. 
He  was  actually  obliged  to  teach  the  regimental  and  company 
officers  how  to  make  requisitions  for  rations  and  equipage. 
McClellan  and  Buell  had  so  completely  monopolized  the  offi 
cers  of  the  regular  army,  that  Grant  was  also  forced  to  select 
his  staff  entirely  from  officers  of  the  volunteer  service.  They 
had  first  to  be  taught  their  duties  before  they  could  be  of  any 
assistance ;  so  that  for  much  of  the  time  Grant  had  to  act  as 
adjutant-general,  quartermaster,  commissary,  ordnance  officer, 
and  aid-de-camp.  He  was  busy  from  morning  till  night,  and 
frequently  from  night  till  morning,  in  writing  orders,  endors 
ing  papers,  and  doing  the  multifarious  work  incident  to  such 
a  command. 

Fortunately,  in  this  emergency,  he  displayed  that  profound 
knowledge  of  character  for  which  he  has  since  become  so 
justly  distinguished.  Lieutenant  John  A.  Eawlins,  (now 
Brigadier-General  and  Chief-of-staff,)  a  young  lawyer  of  tal 
ent,  with  whom  he  had  become  acquainted  at  Galena,  was 
chosen  for  the  position  of  Adjutant-General,  and  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  with  great  eagerness ;  bringing  to 


48  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

his  assistance  habits  of  regularity  and  order  in  the  transaction 
of  business,  a  remarkably  retentive  memory  and  a  powerful 
understanding.  Under  the  instructions  of  his  chief,  he  was 
not  long  in  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  administrative 
details. 

During  this  period  of  two  months  Grant's  forces  were  in 
creased  to  20,000  men,  from  whom  he  organized  the  nucleus 
of  that  army  with  which  he  afterwards  repossessed  the  entire 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  which  throughout  a  career  ex 
tending  to  the  end  of  the  war,  never  met  the  rebels  but  to 
conquer  them.  Whilst  engaged  in  this  work  he  more  than 
once  advised  the  capture  of  Columbus,  a  strong  point  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  twenty  miles  below  Cairo,  which 
the  rebels  were  fortifying,  and  where  they  were  gathering  a 
large  and  well  appointed  force.  This  position  being  naturally 
one  of  the  strongest  on  the  river,  enabled  the  rebels  to  com 
pletely  bar  the  navigation  of  the  stream,  and  to  menace  either 
Paducah  or  Cairo.  By  holding  Belmont  also,  a  point  on  the 
west  ba'nk  of  the  river,  directly  under  the  guns  of  Columbus, 
they  could  cross  troops  at  all  times  for  the  purpose  of  making 
incursions  into  Missouri  and  menacing  Cape  Girardeau,  and 
under  favorable  circumstances,  even  St.  Louis  itself.  As 
early  as  the  10th  of  September,  Grant  wrote  that  if  he  were 
permitted  to  use  his  discretion,  and  could  have  slight  rein 
forcements,  he  could  take  Columbus,  but  he  received  no  reply 
to  his  letter. 

On  the  21st  of  October  a  spirited  fight  took  place  at  Fred- 
ericktown,  in  South-eastern  Missouri,  between  the  rebels 
under  Jeff.  Thompson  and  a  detachment  of  Grant's  command, 
sent  out  from  Cape  Girardeau,  under  Colonel  Plummer,  as 
sisted  by  Hawkins'  Missouri  cavalry  and  Colonel  Carlin's 
regiment  of  Illinois  volunteers,  moving  from  Pilot  Knob. 
The  movement  of  the  Union  detachments  having  been  well 
timed,  Thompson  was  considerably  outnumbered  by  the  united 
force,  and,  although  strongly  posted,  he  was  overpowered 
after  two  hours'  severe  fighting,  and  compelled  to  fly,  leav 
ing  sixty  killed  upon  the  field. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  •      49 

On  the  1st  of  November,  Grant  was  directed  by  Fremont 
to  make  demonstrations  toward  Norfolk,  Charleston,  and 
Bland ville,  but  was  cautioned  against  bringing  on  an  actual 
engagement.  The  next  day  Fremont  informed  him  that  a 
force  of  three  thousand  rebels  had  taken  position  on  the  St. 
Francis  River,  about  fifty  miles  south-west  of  Cairo,  and 
ordered  him  to  detach  a  force  to  assist  a  column,  already 
moving  from  Ironton,  in  driving  them  away.  In  compliance 
with  these  instructions,  Grant  sent  *one  regiment  from  Cape 
Girardeau,  and  Colonel  (now  Governor)  Oglesby,  with  a 
small  brigade  of  mixed  troops  from  Commerce,  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Indian  Ford,  on  the  St.  Francis.  But  the  next  day 
Grant  was  informed  that  Polk,  at  Columbus,  had  begun  to 
send  reinforcements  to  Price,  who  was  at  that  time  confront 
ing  the  national  forces  in  South-west  Missouri.  Fremont 
therefore  ordered  a  demonstration  towards  Columbus,  and 
Grant  immediately  sent  the  regiment  of  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  to 
reinforce  Oglesby,  and  directed  Oglesby  to  turn  his  column 
towards  New  Madrid, — a  point  on  the  Mississippi  below  Co 
lumbus, — with  instructions  to  communicate  with  him  at  Bel- 
mont.  •  General  C.  F.  Smith  was  requested  to  send  out  a 
force  from  Paducah,  for  the  purpose  of  menacing  Columbus 
from  the  rear,  while  two  smaller  detachments  moved  out  from 
Bird's  Point  and  Fort  Holt,  with  the  intention  of  giving  the 
demonstration  the  appearance  of  a  general  movement. 

Having  made  these  dispositions,  on  the  evening  of  the  6th 
of  November,  Grant  embarked  the  rest  of  his  available  force, 
consisting  of  five  regiments  of  infantry,  one  section  of  artil 
lery,  and  two  squadrons  of  cavalry, — in  all  about  thirty-one 
hundred  men, — and,  under  the  convoy  of  two  gun-boats,  began 
the  demonstration  towards  Columbus.  But  having  heard 
during  the  night  that  the  rebels  had  been  crossing  troops  from 
Columbus  to  Belmont,  and  fearing  for  Oglesby's  safety,  he  at 
once  decided  to  convert  his  demonstration  into  an  actual 
movement  against  the  rebel  camps  at  Belmont.  This  pur 
pose  was  favored  by  the  semblance  of  a  landing  which  he  had 
made  the  night  before  on  the  Kentucky  side,  ten  or  twelve 


50  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

miles  below  Cairo.  At  early  dawn  of  the  7th  the  transports 
steamed  down  the  river,  and  landing  at  Hunter's  Point  just 
outside  the  range  of  the  heavy  guns  at  Columbus,  the  troops 
were  rapidly  disembarked,  and  moved  by  the  flank  to  within 
two  miles  of  Belmont.  Here  they  were  halted  long  enough 
to  form  in  order  of  battle,  and  then  marched  forward  to  the 
attack. 

The  rebel  camp  had  been  established  in  an  open  field  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  its  front  covered  by  a  wooded  slough 
running  through  several  small  lagoons,  and  further  strength 
ened  by  a  line  of  abattis.  The  enemy  under  Colonel  Tappan 
having  been  warned  by  the  lookout  from  Columbus,  were  on 
the  alert,  and  lost  no  time  in  disposing  themselves  to  resist 
Grant's  approach.  General  Pillow,  with  four  regiments  of 
his  division,  hurriedly  crossed  the  river  and  took  command 
of  the  rebels. 

The  national  forces  moved  forward  to  the  attack  as  soon  as 
circumstances  would  permit,  covered  by  a  heavy  line  of  skir 
mishers  meeting  with  determined  opposition  at  every  step. 
By  nine  o'clock  they  were  all  engaged,  except  one  battalion 
left  to  guard  the  transports  and  landing.  The  rebels  fought 
with  determination,  disputing  every  foot  of  the  way,  and  hold 
ing  to  every  tree  till  the  last  minute ;  but  after  four  hours' 
hard  fighting,  with  varying  fortunes,  Grant's  raw  volunteers 
swept  everything  before  them, — pushed  the  rebels  beyond  the 
lagoon,  burst  upon  their  camp,  captured  their  artillery  and 
equipage,  and  took  many  prisoners.  During  the  action  the 
men  had  behaved  like  veterans,  but  in  the  moment  of  vic 
tory  they  forgot  what  little  they  had  learned  of  military 
order.  The  four  hours'  hard  work  through  which  they  had 
gone,  had  necessarily  disorganized  them  considerably,  and 
instead  of  forming  again  and  pressing  the  rebels,  who  in  the 
meantime  had  taken  cover  under  the  river  bank,  they  began 
to  plunder  the  rebel  encampment  and  count  the  fruits  of  their 
victory.  Many  of  the  field  officers  carried  away  by  enthu 
siasm,  and  not  realizing  the  dangers  of  their  situation,  wasted 
their  time  and  breath  in  making  speeches.  But  the  rebels 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  51 

though  beaten  were  not  disheartened.     General  Polk,  over- 

ft 

looking  the  entire  scene  from  the  heights  of  Columbus,  had 
become  thoroughly  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  Pillow,  and 
hurried  reinforcements  to  him  as  fast  as  possible.  Three 
regiments  under  Colonel  Marks  reached  him  first,  soon  fol- 

o 

lowed  by  General  Cheatham's  brigade,  thus  increasing  the 
rebel  force  to  eleven  or  twelve  regiments,*  over  twice  as  many 
as  Grant  had  with  him.  Pillow  lost  no  time  in  reorganizing 
his  command,  or  in  getting  it  into  a  suitable  position  from 
which  to  assail  Grant  in  flank  and  rear.  In  the  meantime, 
the  latter  having  observed  the  rebel  transports  crowded  witn 
troops  crossing  from  Columbus,  and  discovered  the  movements 
of  Pillow,  saw  that  he  had  nothing  left  him  but  to  withdraw 
his  forces  promptly  to  the  transports.  He  directed  the  camps 
to  be  burned,  and  after  much  hard  work,  with  the  aid  of  the 
rebel  guns  at  Columbus,  he  succeeded  in  recalling  his  men 
to  their  colors.  The  march  in  retreat  was  begun  without 
further  delay,  but  had  hardly  commenced  when  the  combined 
rebel  force  was  discovered  between  them  and  the  transports. 
One  of  Grant's  officers  hurried  to  him  with  the  information, 
and  in  an  excited  manner,  exclaimed :  "  We  are  surrounded, 
and  will  have  to  surrender  ! "  "  I  guess  not,"  said  Grant 
with  composure.  "  If  we  are  surrounded  we  must  cut  our 
way  out  as  we  cut  our  way  in." 

When  the  troops  discovered  that  their  chief  was  deter 
mined  to  fight  his  way  out,  all  hesitation  was  at  an  end.  The 
attack  was  made  with  vigor,  and  resulted  as  had  been  ex 
pected, — in  a  second  defeat  of  the  enemy.  The  transports 
were  reached  in  due  time,  and  the  command  embarked  under 
cover  of  the  gun-boats  without  further  loss  or  confusion. 

The  loss  of  the  national  forces  in  killed,  wounded  and 
missing,  was  485  men,  while  that  of  the  rebels  reached  632.f 
This  was  the  first  battle  of  any  magnitude  in  that  theater  of 
operations,  and  is  justly  claimed  by  Grant  as  a  substantial 
and  important  victory.  Officers  and  men  had  behaved  with 
great  gallantry.  Colonel  s  Logan,  Lauman,  Dougherty,  and 
*  "  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  pp.  206-8.  t  Ibidem,  p.  209. 


52  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Fouke,  and  General  McClornand  led  their  men  with  con 
spicuous  bravery  throughout  the  action,  while  Grant  himself 
exhibited  his  usual  coolness  and  determination.  In  the  heat 
of  the  action  his  horse  was  killed  under  him.  After  the 
larger  part  of  his  command  had  reached  the  transports,  he 
went  out  again,  accompanied  by  an  aid-de-camp  for  the  pur 
pose  of  withdrawing  the  battalion  that  had  been  left  to  cover 
the  landing,  and  such  small  parties  as  had  not  yet  got  in,  but 
had  gone  only  a  few  rods  when  he  found  himself  in  front  of 
the  entire  rebel  line  not  sixty  paces  distant.  Being  dressed 
in  a  soldiers  blouse,  the  rebels  took  no  particular  notice  of 
him.  lie  saw  that  all  his  stragglers  had  been  picked  up  or 
cut  off,  and  therefore  turned  to  ride  towards  the  boat,  but  as 
the  rebels  continued  to  advance  rapidly  in  the  same  direction, 
he  was  compelled  to  put  his  horse  to  his  best  speed,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  the  boat  just  as  she  was  pushing  off.  The 
rebels,  now  under  Polk  in  person,  reached  the  shore  a  few 
minutes  afterwards,  and  opened  a  severe  musketry  fire  on 
the  transports,  but  as  they  fired  low,  little  or  no  damage  was 
done.  The  gun-boats  replied  with  canister  and  grape  and 
drove  them  back  in  confusion. 

The  rebel  historians  claim  this  as  a  great  victory,  but  noth 
ing  is  more  certain  than  that  Grant  accomplished  his  purpose, 
captured  and  burnt  the  rebel  camps,  took  their  artillery  and 
compelled  Pillow's  command  of  five  regiments  to  seek  safety 
under  cover  of  the  river  bank.  After  the  rebel  force  had 
been  doubled  by  two  additional  brigades,  and  had  succeeded 
in  surrounding  Grant,  the  latter  again  broke  the  rebel  lines 
and  forced  his  way  to  the  transports,  inflicting  almost  twice  as 
much  loss  upon  the  enemy  as  he  had  received.  Oglesby's 
movement  was  entirely  protected,  and  the  rebels  in  all  that 
region  were  thrown  upon  the  defensive,  lest  their  strong 
places  should  be  wrested  from  them.  The  national  troops 
engaged  in  the  battle  of  Belmont  had  no  doubt  whatever 
that  they  had  gained  a  substantial  victory,  and  the  memory 
of  their  deeds  gave  them  a  confidence  and  steadiness  in  action 
which  transformed  them  at  once  into  veterans.  Neither  offi- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  53 

cers  nor  men  who  participated  in  that  battle  were  ever  known 
to  falter  in  the  hour  of  danger,  but  wherever  hard  work  was 
required  or  hard  blows  were  to  be  given,  a  regiment  with 
"Belmont"  upon  its  flags  was  sure  to  be  found.  And  yet 
the  country  at  large  did  not  realize  these  facts,  but  regarded 
Grant  with  distrust  and  looked  upon  the  battle  as  at  best  a 
glorious  misfortune. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  REBELS  CONCENTRATE  AT  BOWLING  GREEN  AND  STRENGTHEN  CO 
LUMBUS,  FORTS  DONELSON  AND  HENRY — FREMONT  SUCCEEDED  BY 
HALLECK — GRANT  CONFIRMED  IN  HIS  COMMAND — BUELL  RELIEVES 
SHERMAN  —  HALLECK  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE—  GRANT  MAKES  A  DEM 
ONSTRATION  TOWARDS  COLUMBUS — -RECOMMENDS  A  MOVEMENT 
AGAINST  FORT  HENRY  —  BEGINS  THE  MOVEMENT  —  CAPTURE  OF 
FORT  HENRY — CONCEPTION  OF  THIS  MOVEMENT  DUE  TO  GRANT. 

THE  rebels  now  set  about  strengthening  their  position  in 
"West  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  and  accordingly  Albert  Sid 
ney  Johnston,  who  had  been  sent  West  by  the  Davis  govern 
ment,  with  discretionary  powers,  determined  to  establish  a 
strong  defensive  line  extending  from  the  Mississippi  to  Central 
Kentucky.  He  concentrated  at  Bowling  Green,  on  the  ex 
treme  right  of  this  line,  covering  Nashville  and  Central  Ten 
nessee,  a  large  and  well  appointed  army.  Columbus  was 
rapidly  strengthened  by  all  the  heavy  guns  which  could  be 
obtained,  while  the  garrison  was  swelled  by  a  large  force, 
designed  to  cover  Memphis  and  hold  the  Mississippi.  The 
centre  of  the  line  was  occupied  by  two  strongly  entrenched 
camps,  Fort  Henry  situated  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Ten 
nessee  River,  and  Fort  Donelson  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Cumberland.  These  positions  had  been  selected  and  fortified 
with  considerable  care  by  experienced  engineers,  and  were 
well  placed,  for  the  purpose  of  barring  the  navigation  of  the 
two  rivers  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  Tennessee.  Every 
exertion  was  made  to  render  them  entirely  secure.  Magazines 
were  constructed,  guns  of  heavy  calibre  were  mounted  upon 
the  water  fronts,  and  troops  were  gathered  from  all  parts  of 
the  South  with  great  dispatch.  The  rebel  leaders  seem  to 


LIFE    OF   UtYSSES   8.  GRANT.  55 

have  become  thoroughly  alarmed,  even  at  this  early  day*  by 
the  activity  which  the  Union  forces  were  displaying,  and  did 
all  they  could  to  give  an  exaggerated  idea  of  their  own  nun> 
bers  and  resources. 

Owing  to  the  failure  of  Fremont's  administration  of  civil 

O 

affairs  in  Missouri,  he  was  relieved  on  the  9th  of  November 
and  was  succeeded  the  same  day  by  General  Halleck,  with 
enlarged  authority  both  civil  and  military. 

The  new  command  was  designated  as  the  department  of  the 
Missouri,  and  included  Arkansas  and  Western  Kentucky  in 
addition  to  the  territory  which  had  heretofore  been  within  the 
limits  of  Fremont's  department.  About  the  same  time  all 
that  part  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  lying  east  of  the  Cum 
berland  River,  was  erected  into  an  independent  command  to 
be  called  the  Department  of  the  Ohio.  General  Buell  was 
designated  to  relieve  General  Sherman,  who  had  succeeded 
General  Anderson  a  short  time  before 

General  Halleck,  continued  Grant  in  the  command  which 
he  had  held  under  Fremont,  but  changed  its  designation  to 
the  District  of  Cairo — and  extended  its  jurisdiction  to  include 
Paducah.  During  the  two  months  which  followed  Halleck's 
accession  to  command  in  the  West,  no  important  operations 
were  conducted  from  Grant's  district,  but  the  time  was  passed 
in  instructing  the  troops,  and  in  perfecting  their  organization. 

Early  in  January,  1862,  Halleck  ordered  Grant  to  make 
demonstrations  from  Paducah  and  Bird's  Point  towards  Co 
lumbus  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  re-enforcement  of 
Buckner  then  collecting  a  large  force  at  Bowling  Green.  In 
compliance  with  these  instructions  six  thousand  men  under 
McClernand,  were  sent  out  from  the  neighborhood  of  Cairo, 
while  a  somewhat  larger  force  under  C»  F.  Smith  moved  at 
the  same  time  from  Paducah.  These  troops  were  marching 
and  countermarching  through  the  swamps  of  Kentucky, 
something  over  a  week,  and  although  they  were  not  engaged 
in  fighting  they  suffered  greatly  from  exposure,  and  hardships. 
A  few  days  after  they  started  the  order  to  send  them  was 
*  '•'  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  p.  210. 


56  LIFE   OF    ULYSSE&    S.  GRANT. 

countermanded.  In  the  meantime,  as  early  as  the  6th  of 
January,  Grant  had  conceived  the  idea  of  taking  Forts 
Donelson  and  Henry,  and  had  applied  to  General  Halleck  for 
authority  to  visit  him  at  St.  Louis  in  order  that  he  might 
obtain  permission  for  the  movement.  Buell  had  asked  Me-? 
Clellan  then  General-in-Chief,  that  a  demonstration  might  be 
made  in  the  direction  of  Nashville,  from  Cairo,  but  neither 
Halleck  nor  McClellan  seemed  to  realize  the  full  importance 
of  the  suggestion.  The  latter  in  fact,  declared  the  capture 
of  Bowling  Green  and  Nashville  to  be  a  matter  of  secondary 
importance  at  that  time.  But  on  the  22d  of  January  Gen 
eral  Smith,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  reconnoissance  of 
Fort  Henry,  reported  that  the  place  could  be  easily  taken  by 
the  iron  clads  and  a  strong  co-operating  land  force,  if  the  at 
tack  should  be  made  within  a  short  time.  Grant  sent  this 
information  at  once  to  Halleck,  and  on  the  next  day  set  out 
to  visit  him.  Halleck  however  would  not  sanction  the  un 
dertaking,  but  sent  him  back  to  his  command  with  an  intima 
tion  that  it  would  be  time  enough  to  make  suggestions  when 
they  were  asked.  Fortunately,  however,  Grant  was  not  con 
vinced  by  Halleck's  ideas  of  strategy,  but  on  the  28th  of 
January,  he  telegraphed  for  permission  "  to  take  and  hold 
Fort  Henry,"  following  it  the  next  day  by  a  letter  stating  his 
reasons  more  fully  than  he  had  yet  done,  for  believing  that 
the  place  could  be  taken  and  that  considerations  of  sound 
policy  would  warrant  the  attempt.  These  repeated  applica 
tions,  supported  as  they  were  by  Commodore  Foote,  com 
manding  the  naval  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  Cairo,  at  last 
prevailed,  and  Halleck  issued  the  necessary  orders  for  the 
movement.  Detailed  instructions  were  sent  on  the  30th  of 
January,  and  reached  Cairo  on  the  1st  of  February.  On  the 
2d,  Grant,  accompanied  by  seventeen  thousand  men  on  trans 
ports,  and  seven  iron-clads  under  the  command  of  Commodore 
Foote,  set  out  upon  this  expedition  and  two  days  thereafter 
the  troops  were  disembarked  a  few  miles  below  Fort  Henry, 
for  the  purpose  of  marching  upon  its  rear  while  the  gun-boats 
should  attack  it  in  front. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  57 

The  rebels  had  erected  batteries  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
and  had  garrisoned  them  by  about  2500  men  under  General 
Tilghman.  The  main  work  was  however  on  the  eastern  side 
and  consisted  of  an  enclosed  bastioned  line  mounting  seventeen 
heavy  guns,  with  a  strong  line  of  outworks,  covering  the  ap 
proach  by  the  Dover  road.  Fort  Heiman,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  overlooked  Fort  Henry,  but  not  having  been 
finished  the  rebels  abandoned  it  at  the  first  intimation  of 
danger.  The  Tennessee  River  at  that  time  being  very  high, 
Fort  Henry  situated  on  the  bottom  land,  was  entirely  sur 
rounded  by  water.  Grant  desired  to  make  his  movement 
entirely  certain  and  to  capture  both  forts  with  their  garrisons. 
He  therefore  delayed  the  advance  till  the  next  day,  employing 
the  interval  in  bringing  up  additional  troops,  and  in  making 
his  final  dispositions  for  the  attack.  Not  knowing  that  Fort 
Heiman  had  been  evacuated  he  ordered  C.  F.  Smith  with 
two  brigades  to  invest  and  take  it  at  daylight,  while  McCler- 
nand  was  ordered  with  the  remainder  of  the  forces  to  move 
to  the  rear  of  Fort  Henry  and  to  take  position  on  the  roads 
to  Fort  Donelson  and  Dover.  The  iron-clads  steamed  up  at 
the  same  time  and  by  noon  opened  at  short  range  upon  the 
water  batteries.  The  rebel  artillerists  under  the  direct  com 
mand  of  Tilghman  in  person,  served  their  guns  with  accuracy 
and  effect  but  after  an  hour  and  a  half  every  gun  was  silenced. 
They  could  not  hold  out  against  the  heavier  metal  of  their 
assailants  though  they  inflicted  severe  injury  upon  them. 
The  Essex,  was  struck  by  a  shot,  which  penetrated  her  boiler, 
causing  a  terrible  explosion  from  the  effects  of  which  forty- 
eiorht  soldiers  and  sailors  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  fort 

o 

surrendered,  with  General  Tilghman  and  staff,  and  about  ninety 
men,  but  the  main  force,  having  been  posted  in  the  outworks 
on  the  high  ground  fled  by  the  road  to  Fort  Donelson  as  soon 
as  they  saw  their  flag  hauled  down.  McClernand  did  not  suc 
ceed  in  reaching  the  place  assigned  him  till  some  time  after  the 

O  I  O 

retreat  had  begun,  his  delay  having  been  unavoidably  caused 
by  the  high  water,  bad  roads,  and  difficult  character  of  the 
country,  and  the  victory  was  therefore  not  so  complete  as  it 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

might  have  been.  Grant  announced  his  success  to  Halleck, 
in  a  brief  and  modest  telegram,  closing  with  the  information, 
that  he  should  take  and  destroy  Fort  Donelson  on  the  8th 
and  then  return  to  Fort  Henry. 

NOTE.— The  conception  of  the  movement  against  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson 
is  doubtless  due  to  Grant,  for,  although  others,  as  Sherman  and  Buell,  may 
have  seen  the  necessity  of  this  movement  as  soon  as  or  even  before  Grant, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  either  of  them  ever  suggested  it  to  him,  or  to  any 
one  else  who  did  suggest  it  to  him.  Badeau's  "  Military  History  "  gives  a  full 
and  clear  exposition  of  all  the  correspondence  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and 
shows  clearly  that  it  was  Grant's  persistence  alone  which  succeeded  in  geting 
authority  for  the  movement. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


BOWLING  GREEN  EVACUATED  —  FORT  DONELSON  HEAVILY  RE-EN- 
JORCED  AND  STRENGTHENED — GRANT  MOVES  UPON  IT — SKIRMISH 
ING —  INVESTMENT  —  DEFEAT  OF  THE  GUN-BOATS  —  THE  REBELS 

UNDERTAKE  TO  CUT  THEIR  WAY  OUT DESPERATE  BATTLE — GRANT 

ARRIVES  ON  THE  FIELD — RESTORES  ORDER — ANECDOTE — RENEWS 
THE  BATTLE — SMITH'S  SUCCESSFUL  ASSAULT — BUCKNER  ASKS  FOR 
AN  ARMISTICE — GRANT  PROPOSES  TO  MOVE  AT  ONCE  UPON  HIS 
WORKS — UNCONDITIONAL  SURRENDER — GRANT  MADE  MAJOB-GEN- 
ERAL — IIALLECK'S  JEALOUSY. 

IN  anticipation  of  further  operations  on  the  part  of  Grant's 
column,  General  Pillow  assumed  command  at  Fort  Donelson 
on  the  9th  of  February,  and  began  at  once  to  make  prepara 
tions  for  the  coming  struggle.  The  remnant  of  Tilghman's 
force  had  already  arrived,  and  on  the  13th,  the  garrison  was 
further  strengthened  by  a  considerable  force  from  Russellville 
under  the  command  of  Floyd.  Johnston,  who  was  then  at 
Bowling  Green  in  supreme  command,  called  a  council  of  his 
Generals,  and  after  fully  considering  the  condition  of  affairs, 
decided  to  fight  the  battle  for  Nashville  and  Middle  Tennessee 
at  Fort  Donelson.  He  therefore  detached  all  the  troops  that 
could  be  spared  from  the  army  confronting  Buell,  and  did 
everything  in  his  power  to  provide  the  army  at  Donelson 
with  ammunition  and  the  means  of  defense.* 

But  Grant  was  equally  prompt  to  perceive  the  advantage 
of  activity,  and  made  all  haste  to  gather  the  means  of  assail 
ing  that  important  point,  although  he  had  been  cautioned  by 
Halleck  to  "  strengthen  Fort  Henry  and  hold  it  at  all  hazards." 
Re-enforcements  were  hurried  forward  with  admirable  rapidity 

*  See  "  Southern  History  of  the  War." 


60  LIFE    OP   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

by  the  Department  Commander  at  St.  Louis,  but  with  them 
came  shovels  and  picks  in  abundance,  and  the  urgent  advice 
to  have  them  used  by  the  slaves  of  the  country,  who  might  be 
impressed  for  that  purpose.  Grant  with  the  instinct  of  a  true 
soldier,  had  no  notion  of  wasting  his  time  in  such  work.  He 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  excessive  caution  and  timidity, 
which  even  at  that  day  had  begun  to  control  the  policy  of 
the  future  General-in-Chief. 

The  rapid  rise  of  the  Tennessee  Eiver  made  it  impossible 
to  collect  the  forces  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Henry,  and 
get  them  ready  for  the  advance.  The  gun-boats  had  not  yet 
returned  from  their  expedition  up  the  Tennessee,  so  that  not 
withstanding  Grant's  impatience,  he  was  forced  to  wait  as 
patiently  as  he  might,  although  he  knew  that  every  moment's 
delay  was  making  his  task  more  difficult. 

On  the  llth,  a  part  of  McClernand's  command  moved  out 
several  miles,  and  on  the  12th,  the  whole  force,  consisting  of 
McClernand's  and  Smith's  divisions,  about  fifteen  thousand 
strong,  including  eight  batteries  of  artillery,  marched  by  the 
telegraph  and  Dover  roads  towards  the  rebel  stronghold. 
The  wagons,  tents,  and  all  "encumbrances"  were  left  at  Fort 
Henry  under  the  protection  of  Lewis  Wallace's  brigade. 
Such  re-enforcements  as  had  already  arrived,  were  ordered 
to  remain  on  their  transports  and  to  accompany  the  gun-boats 
by  the  way  of  the  Cumberland  River  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Fort  Donelson. 

The  rebels  made  no  effort  to  delay  the  advance  of  Grant's 
army,  although  the  broken  and  heavily  wooded  country  be 
tween  the  two  rivers  would  have  rendered  it  an  easy  matter 
for  a  small  force  to  give  the  national  troops  great  annoyance. 

By  this  time  the  rebels  had  succeeded  in  making  Fort  Don 
elson  the  strongest  place  in  that  theatre  of  operations.  It 
was  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Cumberland,  on  a  rugged 
and  heavily  timbered  range  of  hills,  overlooking  the  river  in 
one  direction,  and  commanding  the  country  in  the  other.  The 
lines  had  been  laid  out  by  skillful  engineers  and  were  so  ar 
ranged  on  the  water  front  as  to  completely  sweep  all  the  apr 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  61 

preaches  on  that  side.  At  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  the  same 
side  were  two  powerful  and  well  constructed  sunken  batteries 
mounting  ten  thirty-two-pounders,  one  ten-inch  columbiad, 
and  one  heavy  rifled  gun.  On  the  land  side  the  main  and 
inner  line  of  breastworks  was  continuous,  and  followed  the 
hills  and  ridges  with  re-entrants,  curtains  and  salients,  so  as 
to  enclose  over  a  hundred  acres  of  ground,  and  to  give  a  front 
of  over  two  miles,  covered  throughout  by  heavy  slashing  and 
abattis.  Both  flanks  of  this  line  rested  upon  creeks,  the  banks 
of  which  were  overflowed  by  the  back  water  from  the  river. 
Still  outside  of  this  line,  encircling  the  fort  and  the  town  of 
Dover,  was  a  line  of  detached  rifle  trenches,  surmounted  by 
log  breastworks.  The  rebel  force  consisted  of  twenty-six 
regiments  of  infantry,  two  independent  battalions,  and  For 
rest's  cavalry,*  numbering  in  all  about  twenty-three  thousand 
muskets,  and  sixty-five  guns,  of  which,  seventeen  were  heavy, 
and  the  rest  field  pieces. 

On  the  10th  Pillow  held  command  of  the  rebel  forces,  but 
he  was  superseded  by  Floyd,  (secretary  of  war  under  Bu 
chanan)  on  the  13th.  The  other  prominent  rebel  command 
ers  were  Buckner,  and  Bushrod  Johnson,  the  former  having 
command  of  the  fort  and  inner  line,  while  the  latter  assisted 
Pillow  in  the  command  of  the  rebel  left. 

Shortly  after  noon  of  the  12th  the  advance  guard  of  Mc- 
Clernand's  and  C.  F.  Smith's  columns  drove  in  the  rebel 
pickets  and  came  within  sight  of  the  stronghold,  in  front  of 
which  they  gradually  took  up  their  position,  Smith  on  the 
left  and  McClernand  on  the  right.  Slight  skirmishing  ensued 
at  intervals  along  the  lines,  but  nothing  like  an  engagement 
took  place  that  evening.  The  rebels  seemed  undecided,  while 
Grant  did  not  care  to  strike  till  he  could  have  the  powerful 
assistance  of  the  turtle-back  iron-clads.  The  next  day  was 
spent  in  reconnoitering  the  ground,  extending  and  adjusting 
the  lines,  and  perfecting  the  investment.  Sharp  skirmishing, 
and  some  desultory  fighting  took  place,  but  the  rebels  still 
refrained  from  attacking.  The  non-arrival  of  the  gun-boats 
*  "  Southern  History  of  the  "YVar." 


62  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

and  of  the  expected  re-enforcements,  was  a  sufficient  reason 
why  Grant  should  not  seek  to  hasten  the  action.  By  the 
second  night,  he  had  made  the  investment  as  complete  as  it 
could  be  made  by  the  force  then  at  hand.  His  line  was  about 
three  miles  in  extent,  the  left  resting  on  Hickman's  Creek 
and  communicating  with  the  Cumberland  while  the  centre 
occupied  an  open  field,  and  the  right  extended  well  out 
through  the  wooded  country  towards  Dover.  Batteries  of 
field  guns  occupied  favorable  positions  along  the  line,  but  no 
entrenchments  had  been  thrown  up,  notwithstanding  General 
Halleck's  foresight  in  sending  forward  axes,  shovels  and  picks. 
Neither  Grant  nor  his  army  had  yet  thought  it  necessary  to 
resort  to  such  weapons  during  the  progress  of  an  active  cam 
paign.  Everything  was  in  readiness  for  an  assault  or  a  siege, 
as  circumstances  might  require,  as  soon  as  Foote  and  the 
transports  should  make  their  appearance.  At  this  time,  it 
will  be  remembered,  that  Grant's  forces  consisted  of  only  two 
divisions  of  infantry,  one  regiment  of  cavalry  and  six  field 
batteries,  about  14,000  men,  or  nearly  ten  thousand  less  than 
the  rebel  force  in  their  front.* 

Foote  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Donelson  during 
the  night  of  the  13th,  bringing  with  him  the  long-expected 
re-enforcements.  These  were  disembarked  at  once,  formed 
into  a  new  division  under  General  Lewis  Wallace  and  as 
signed  to  a  place  between  Smith  and  McClernand,  near  the 
center,  while  McArthur's  brigade  of  Smith's  division  was 
'moved  to  the  extreme  right  of  the  line.  These  dispositions 
were  perfected  by 'noon  of  the  14th,  and  at  three  P.  M.,  the 
flotilla,  under  Foote  steamed  up  the  Cumberland  and  opened 
fire  at  close  range  upon  the  rebel  works.  The  rebel  batteries 
replied  at  once  and  with  great  spirit,  and  having  an  elevation 
of  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  the  water,  they  were  enabled  to 
deliver  their  shot  with  telling  effect.  The  iron-clads  continued 

*  "  Campaigns  of  General  Forrest,"  p.  95,  states  :  "  As  it  was,  Grant,  land 
ing  with  a  petty  force  of  fifteen  thousand  in  the  very  centre  of  a  force  of  nearly 
forty-five  thousand,  having  the  interior  lines  for  concentration  and  communi 
cation,  by  railway  at  that,  was  able  to  take  two  heavy  fortifications  in  detail, 
and  place  hors  de  combat  nearly  fifteen  thousand  of  his  enemy. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  63 

their  approach  to  within  four  hundred  yards,  and  would  doubt 
less  have  succeeded  in  driving  the  rebels  from  their  guns  had 
not  two  of  the  best  boats  been  disabled.  The  action  continued 
an  hour  and  a  half  with  great  desperation,  but  at  the  end  of 
that  time  all  the  gun-boats  were  so  severely  crippled  that  they 
were  obliged  to  haul  off.  They  had  lost  fifty-four  men,  killed 
and  wounded,  including  among  the  latter,  Commodore  Foote 
and  several  other  officers. 

McClernand  had  made  a  gallant  but  unauthorized  attack 
on  the  right  of  the  line,  in  which  Colonels  Wallace,  Haynie, 
and  Morrison,  and  the  troops  under  their  command  behaved 
with  great  intrepidity ;  sharp  skirmishing  had  been  going  on 
all  day  in  front  of  the  other  divisions,  it  having  been  Grant's 
intention  to  order  a  general  attack  in  case  the  navy  should 
succeed  in  silencing  the  rebel  batteries.  This  not  having  been 
done  the  army  continued  immovable.  The  losses  up  to  this 
time  were  insignificant,  not  exceeding  three  hundred  and  fifty 
killed  and  wounded. 

The  rebels  deluded  themselves  with  the  belief  that  they 
had  gained  important  advantages,  and  were  greatly  elated  by 
their  partial  success,  from  the  fact  that  the  batteries  had 
beaten  off  the  gun-boats.* 

The  entrenchments  on  the  land  side  seemed  to  be  so  strong 
and  so  well  manned  as  to  forbid  the  hope  of  a  successful  as 
sault  by  new  troops.  Grant  had  begun  to  contemplate  a 
resort  to  the  slow  and  tedious  process  of  a  regular  siege,  but 
the  idea  that  he  had  lost  the  day,  or  would  not  ultimately 
reduce  the  place,  never  entered  his  mind.  In  the  words  of 
Colonel  Oglesby :  "  he  had  gone  there  to  take  that  fort,  and 
intended  to  stay  till  he  did  it."  Ee-enforcements  had  begun 
to  pour  in  rapidly,  and  although  the  men  were  entirely  un 
trained,  they  were  of  the  right  material  to  encounter  danger 
and  hardships.  Up  to  the  13th,  the  weather  was  fine  and 
warm,  but  during  that  night  a  storm  of  sleet,  hail,  and  snow 
set  in,  and  before  morning  the  mercury  stood  at  twenty  de 
grees  below  the  freezing  point.  The  tents  had  been  left  be- 
"  Southern  History  "»f  the  War." 


64  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

hind,  the  troops  were  without  rations  or  fires,  and  many  had 
even  thrown  away  their  blankets  during  the  march  from  Fort 
Henry,  yet  there  was  no  faltering.  Every  man  stood  to  his 
post,  and  every  officer  did  his  duty  cheerfully  and  willingly. 

The  rebels  seeing  the  Union  lines  strengthening  day  by 
day,  seemed  from  the  first  to  have  had  no  hope  of  maintain 
ing  their  position.  They  were  kept  constantly  on  the  alert 
lest  the  attack  should  fall  upon  them  unexpectedly,  while  the 
cold  and  wet  pinched  them  as  unrelentingly  as  it  did  the 
hardy  northerners.  The  situation  was  far  from  being  an  agree 
able  one,  and  in  the  vivid  imagination  of  Floyd  and  Pillow,  it 
appeared  worse  than  it  really  was.*  On  the  night  of  the 
14th,  Floyd  called  a  council  of  his  Generals,  in  which  it  was 
represented  that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to  hold  out  for 
any  length  of  time  with  their  inadequate  numbers  and  inde 
fensible  position.  On  this  statement  of  the  case,  after  much 
discussion,  it  was  decided  that  "  but  one  course  remained  by 
which  a  rational  hope  of  saving  the  garrison  could  be  enter 
tained,  and  that  was  to  drive  back  the  molesting  force  on  the 
Dover  side,  and  pass  their  troops  into  the  open  country  in  the 
direction  of  Nashville."!  But  as  a  matter  of  course,  this  de 
termination  was  not  discovered  till  the  rebels  had  nearly  suc 
ceeded  in  their  attempt  to  carry  it  into  effect. 

At  two  o'clock  A.  M.,  Grant  was  sent  for  by  Commodore 
Foote,  and  before  dawn  of  the  15th,  he  had  gone  on  board  the 
flag-ship,  where  he  received  the  information  that  the  fleet  would 
be  compelled  to  return  to  Cairo  for  repairs.  In  the  meantime 
the  rebels  had  made  arrangements  to  carry  out  their  desper 
ate  policy,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  light  they  sallied  from  the 
left  of  their  line  in  heavy  masses.  The  attack  fell  at  first 
upon  McArthur's  brigade  of  Smith's  division,  but  soon  ex 
tended  along  the  brigades  of  Oglesby  and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace, 
of  McClernand's  division,  and  ultimately  to  Cruft's  brigade 

f"  Campaigns  of  Forrest,"  p.  70,  states  that  a  council  was  held  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  14th,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  make  a  sortie  and  escape  to 
the  open  country,  but  it  was  abandoned  for  some  reasons  not  made  public. 

t "  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  p.  247. 


LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT.  65 

of  L.  Wallace's  division.  The  national  troops  fought  with 
great  courage,  stubbornly  holding  their  own  as  long  as  it  was 
possible,  against  the  superior  weight  and  impulsion  of  the 
enemy's  columns.  Even  when  they  yielded  their  ground,  it 
was  only  because  their  ammunition  was  exhausted.  General 
Mc4Clernand,  and  Colonels  McArthur,  Oglesby,  Cruft,  Logan, 
Lawler,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace,  and  Eansom,  together  with  the 
field  and  line  officers  of  every  grade,  behaved  with  the  most 
conspicuous  gallantry.  Taylor's,  Dresser's  and  McAllister's 
batteries  were  well  posted  and  swept  the  advancing  rebels 
with  a  storm  of  canister  and  grape.  Everything  that  valor 
and  endurance  could  do  to  stem  the  tide  of  defeat  was  done, 
and  yet  with  varying  fortunes  and  occasional  success,  the 
Union  troops  were  slowly  pressed  back.  The  ammunition  of 
nearly  all  the  troops  engaged  had  been  exhausted,  and  the 
crisis  of  the  battle  seemed  to  have  arrived,  when  taking  ad 
vantage  of  a  halt  in  the  fight,  Thayer's  brigade  of  Lewis 
Wallace's  division,  moved  into  the  post  of  danger,  while  the 
hard  pressed  regiments  of  the  right  refilled  their  cartridge 
boxes.  So  great  had  been  the  rebel  success,  that  Pillow 
paused  in  the  heat  of  his  advance  and  sent  to  Johnston 
at  Nashville,  the  following  message :  "  On  the  honor  of  a 
soldier,  the  day  is  ours."  But  he  had  claimed  the  victory 
before  it  was  won,  for,  although  the  tide  of  battle  in  the 
morning  had  set  strongly  in  his  favor,  he  was  destined  before 
night-fall  to  have  it  rolled  back  upon  him  with  resistless  force. 
At  nine  o'clock,  Grant  having  finished  his  interview  with 
Toote,  set  out  to  return  to  his  head-quarters,  but  received 
no  intimation  of  what  was  taking  place,  till  he  met  an  aid 
who  had  been  sent  to  inform  him  of  the  rebel  sortie.  On 
his  way  to  the  field  of  battle,  he  encountered  C.  F.  Smith, 
who  had  not  yet  been  engaged,  and  at  once  ordered  him  to 
hold  himself  in  readiness  to  assault  the  rebel  right  with  his 
entire  division.  Pushing  on  rapidly,  he  soon  came  in  sight 
of  his  broken  and  disordered  troops.  The  condition  of  affairs 
was  nearly  as  bad  as  it  could  be.  Logan,  Lawler,  and  Kan- 

som,  were  wounded,  and  a  large  number  of  the  best  officers 
5 


66  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

and  men  were  killed.  Whilst  riding  over  the  field  in  the 
midst  of  the  confusion  and  uncertainty  which  prevailed, 
Grant  discovered  that  the  knapsacks  of  the  rebel  dead  were 
packed,  and  that  their  haversacks  were  filled  with  rations. 
Knowing  that  no  soldier  would  have  made  such  preparations 
for  an  ordinary  sortie  nor  even  for  a  general  battle,  he  saw  at 
once  that  the  rebels  had  been  fighting  for  a  road  to  the  open 
country.  Fully  appreciating  the  situation,  he  said  to  those 
about  him :  "  Whichever  party  makes  the  first  attack  will 
win  the  day,  and  the  rebels  will  have  to  be  very  quick  if  they 
beat  me !  "  He  sent  his  staff  at  once  to  reassure  the  troops 
by  telling  them  of  his  fortunate  discovery,  and  with  the 
promptitude  of  genius,  gave  the  word  for  an. advance  along 
the  entire  line.  Having  done  this,  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse 
and  galloped  to  the  place  where  he  had  left  Smith,  and  ordered 
his  division  to  assault  the  enemy's  works.  Immediately  after 
wards  he  requested  Foote,  in  writing,  to  steam  up  with  his 
fleet  and  make  a  show  of  renewing  the  attack. 

At  about  four  o'clock,  everything  was  in  readiness.  On 
the  center  and  right,  Wallace's  division,  Cruft's  and  M.  L. 
Smith's  brigades  in  advance,  supported,  as  occasion  required, 
by  McClernand  and  McArthur,  moved  against  the  enemy, 
and  after  a  gallant  struggle,  recaptured  the  lost  guns  of  the 
morning  and  pressed  him  back  into  his  works. 

In  obedience  to  the  orders  of  his  chief,  C.  F.  Smith  had 
lost  no  time  in  forming  Lauman's  brigade,  composed  of  the 
Second,  Seventh,  and  Fourteenth  Iowa,  with  the  Twenty- 
fifth  and  Fifty-second  Indiana,  into  a  column  of  attack.  Hav 
ing  ordered  Cook's  brigade  to  make  a  demonstration  on  his 
left,  he  rode  along  the  lines  of  the  forlorn  hope,  and  in  a  few 
soldierly  words  taught  them  what  must  be  done.  It  was  late 
in  the  afternoon  when  the  sharp  rattle  of  musketry,  mingled 
with  the  sullen  roar  of  artillery  from  the  center  and  right, 
told  the  gallant  veteran  that  the  time  for  his  advance  had 
come.  Throwing  himself  between  the  two  lines,  he  gave  the 
word  "forward."  His  men  sprang  to  the  attack  with  a  zeal 
and  rapidity  rarely  surpassed,  and  although  the  ground  over 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  67 

which  they  had  to  move  was  broken,  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  small  trees,  and  swept  by  the  sharp  and  unrelent 
ing  musketry  of  the  rebels,  they  pushed  forward,  through 
brush  and  abattis,  scaled  the  heights  arid  burst  upon  the  rebel 
line  with  a  force  that  nothing  human  could  resist.  Artillery 
and  re-enforcements  hurried  forward,  securing  the  advantage 
which  had  been  gained,  and  pressing  the  enemy  still  farther 
back,  while  McClernand,  Wallace,  and  McArthur,  pushed 
their  advance  with  renewed  vigor. 

When  night  closed,  the  desperate  struggle  was  no  longer 
doubtful.  It  found  the  Union  army  flushed  with  victory,  and 
filled  with  hope  for  the  morrow.  It.  had  regained  all  the 
ground  lost  during  the  day  ;  re-established  and  strengthened 
its  lines,  and  what  was  better^  had  secured  a  firm  lodgment 
within  the  enemy's  stronghold.  Grant's  generalship,  after  his 
timely  appearance  upon  the  field,  aided  by  the  valor  of  Smith 
and  the  steady  courage  of  his  undisciplined  volunteers,  won 
the  day,  even  after  it  had  been  lost. 

During  the  night  which  followed,  Floyd  again  called  his 
officers  together,  but  this  time  for  the  purpose  of  finding  some 
one  brave  enough  to  relieve  him  from  the  duty  of  surrender 
ing.  Conscious  of  the  many  injuries  he  had  inflicted  on  the 
country,  whilst  secretary  of  war,  he  feared  that,  once  a  pris 
oner,  summary  justice  would  be  executed  upon  him.  He  there 
fore  made  over  the  command  to  Pillow,  who  with  pusillanimous 
haste,  "  passed  "  it  to  Buckner  the  third  in  rank.*  This  being 
done,  these  men  took  possession  of  two  small  steamboats,  and 
with  a  small  brigade  of  troops,  stole  away  from  their  comrades. 
Colonel  Forest  with  his  regiment  of  cavalry,  went  out  by  the 
river  road.  Buckner  did  not  hesitate  in  the  only  course  left 
him,  but  called  at  once  for  a  bugler,  and  wrote  a  note  to  Grant 
asking  for  an  armistice  and  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
to  arrange  the  terms  of  capitulation.  Grant  having  issued 
orders  the  night  before  for  an  early  attack,  declined  the  armis 
tice,  and  replied  at  once :  "  No  terms  other  than  an  uncon 
ditional  and  immediate  surrender,  can  be  accepted.  I  propose 
*Kebel  Official  Keports. 


68  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

to  move  immediately  upon  your  works !  "  These  words  were 
as  startling  to  the  rebels  as  the  attack  which  they  portended 
would  have  been,  and  were  answered  by  the  "  unconditional 
and  immediate  surrender,"  of  Fort  Donelson  and  all  its  gar 
rison,  consisting  of  14,623  men,  with  17  heavy  guns,  48  field 
pieces,  over  20,000  stands  of  small  arms,  and  about  3,000 
horses,  besides  large  quantities  of  military  stores  of  all  kinds. 
The  news  of  this  splendid  victory  spread  like  lightning. 
The  name  of  Grant  was  hailed  with  joy,  while  the  deeds  of 
his  gallant  army  were  read  with  eager  delight  by  every  loyal 
citizen  and  true  soldier,  throughout  the  land.  The  President 
hastened  to  express  his  gratitude  to  Grant  by  sending  him  the 
commission  of  Major-General.  Everybody  rejoiced  at  this  act 
of  justice,  except  General  Halleck,  who  did  all  in  his  power 
to  give  exclusive  credit  for  the  victory  to  C.  F.  Smith,  and  to 
secure  for  that  officer  the  reward  which  Grant  had  so  honestly 
won.  On  the  other  hand,  Grant  never  for  a  moment  with 
held  the  praise  which  was  due  to  his  subordinates,  but  with 
the  least  possible  delay,  recommended  all  who  earned  it,  for 
promotion,  and  yet  there  were  some  among  them  who  did  not 
scruple  to  charge  him  with  incompetency,  or  to  circulate  ca- 
luminous  reports  against  his  private  character.* 

*For  a  full  explanation  of  Halleck's  action  towards  Grant,  see  Badeau's 
"  Military  History  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

FRUITS  OF  THE  VICTORY  AT  FORT  DONELSON — NASHVILLE  EVACUA 
TED — JOHNSTON  CONCENTRATES  HIS  ARMY  AT  MURFREESBORO — 
EVACUATION  OF  COLUMBUS — GRANT  ASSUMES  COMMAND  OF  THE 
DISTRICT  OF  WEST  TENNESSEE — SHERMAN  SUCCEEDS  HIM  AT  CAIRO 
— GRANT  RESTRAINED  BY  HALLECK — REBUKED  AND  RELIEVED  FROM 
COMMAND  FOR  GOING  TO  NASHVILLE — CHARGED  WITH  INSUBORDI 
NATION — HE  ASKS  TO  BE  RELIEVED — RESTORED  TO  COMMAND — 
THE  REBELS  CONCENTRATE  AT  CORINTH — BUELL  ORDERED  TO  JOIN 
GRANT — GRANT  TAKES  COMMAND  AT  SAVANNAH — CONCENTRATES 
HIS  ARMY  AT  PITTSBURG  LANDING — STRATEGIC  CONSIDERATIONS — 
BUELL  SLOW — THE  REBELS  DETERMINED  TO  FALL  UPON  GRANT 

— PRELIMINARIES  TO  THE  BATTLE  OF  8HILOH — GRANT  PREPARED 

TERRIBLE    FIGHTING DETAILS    OF    THE    FIRST    DAY'S    OPERATIONS 

— ARRIVAL   OF    BUELL — GRANT   STILL   HOPEFUL — THE   BATTLE   RE 
NEWED  NEXT  MORNING — EASY  VICTORY — RESULTS. 

THE  damage  inflicted  upon  the  rebel  cause  by  the  fall  of 
Fort  Donelson  was  not  limited  by  the  prisoners  and  spoils 
captured  at  that  place.  Southern  Kentucky  and  a  large 
portion  of  Middle  Tennessee,  were  cleared  completely  of  all 
insurgent  force,  and  including  the  strongly  fortified  camps  at 
Columbus  and  Bowling  Green,  as  well  as  the  important  city 
of  Nashville  with  large  quantities  of  military  stores  that  could 
not  be  removed,  passed  at  once  under  the  control  of  the  Union 
armies.  The  entire  North  was  electrified  with  hope  and  in 
spired  by  renewed  vigor,  while  the  South  was  correspondingly 
depressed. 

General  Johnston,  the  rebel  commander,  realizing  when  it 
was  too  late  to  avert  it,  that  the  Confederacy,  through  his 
policy  of  dispersion,  had  received  a  vital  blow,  set  himself 
to  work  vigorously  to  concentrate  and  reorganize  his  broken 


70  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

and  widely  scattered  forces.  After  much  trouble  and  some 
delay  he  succeeded  in  collecting  at  Murfreesboro,  an  army 
which,  according  to  the  rebel  historian,  Pollard,  numbered 
seventeen  thousand  men,  though  in  all  probability  it  was 
considerably  larger ;  his  object  now  being  to  cooperate  with 
Beauregard,  and  ultimately  to  join  with  him  in  the  defence 
of  the  lower  Mississippi  valley  and  the  railroad  system  of 
the  South-west.  This  required  the  establishment  and  main 
tenance  of  a  new  defensive  line,  of  which  Island  No.  10  and 
Murfreesboro  at  first,  and  Corinth  and  Chattanooga  after 
wards  became  the  principal  points. 

General  Halleck,  soon  after  the  great  victory  on  the  Cum 
berland,  set  movements  on  foot  under  the  direction  of  General 
Pope,  which  resulted  in  compelling  the  evacuation  of  Island 
No.  10.  This  event  occurred  on  the  8th  of  April,  and  in  con 
nection  with  the  operations  which  we  are  about  to  describe, 
gave  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Union  forces, 
as  far  down  as  Memphis. 

In  obedience  to  an  assignment  from  Halleck,  Grant  assumed 
command  of  the  new  military  district  of  West  Tennessee,  with 
limits  undefined,  on  the  17th  of  February,  and  was  succeeded 
in  command  of  the  District  of  Cairo  by  General  W.  T.  Sher 
man,  who  had  been  stationed  at  Paducah  during  the  operations 
against  Fort  Donelson.  This  officer  had  exerted  himself  to 
the  utmost  in  forwarding  re-enforcements  and  supplies,  and 
lost  no  opportunity  to  encourage  and  support  our  army  in  the 
field,  and  although  he  was  Grant's  superior  in  rank,  he  ex 
pressed  a  willingness  to  join  and  serve  under  him,  without 
raising  the  question  of  precedence.  Grant  heartily  apprecia 
ted  this  zealous  and  patriotic  conduct,  as  well  as  the  kindness 
and  confidence  with  which  Sherman  had  offered  his  services. 
It  speaks  well  for  both  that  henceforth  these  men  were  firm 
and  devoted  friends. 

Immediately  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson,  Halleck  tele 
graphed  to  Grant  to  be  cautious  in  his  movements— to  risk 
nothing  by  sending  out  detachments,  and  that  it  would  be 
better  to  retreat  than  to  risk  a  general  battle.  But  Grant, 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  71 

with  the  true  instincts  of  a  General,  sent  C.  F.  Smith,  on  the 
21st  of  February,  to  take  Clarksville,  and  on  the  27th,  went 
in  person  to  Nashville  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  Buell, 
whose  advance  had  reached  that  place.  He  was  anxious  to 
know  in  what  direction  he  should  have  to  strike  next,  and 
therefore  did  all  he  could  to  keep  himself  informed  of  the 
enemy's  movements.  During  this  time  he  wrote  and  tele 
graphed  daily  to  Halleck  and  his  Chief-of-staff,  in  regard  to 
the  condition  and  whereabouts  of  his  command,  and  neglected 
nothing  which  should  have  engaged  the  attention  of  a  care 
ful  and  painstaking  General.  And  yet  his  dissatisfied  and 
envious  superior,  charged  him  with  neglect  of  duty  and  diso 
bedience  of  orders,  and  shortly  afterwards  reported  him  to 
Washington  as  irresolute  and  insubordinate. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  Halleck,  having  already  ordered  the 
army  from  Fort  Donelson  to  Fort  Henry,  with  the  view  of 
operations  up  the  Tennessee  River,  inflicted  the  further  indig 
nity  upon  Grant  of  compelling  him  to  place  Major-General 
C.  F.  Smith  in  command  of  the  expedition  and  to  remain 
himself  in  command  of  Fort  Henry.  Smarting  under  the 
unjust  rebukes  which  were  continually  coming  from  Halleck's 
head-quarters,  and  feeling  keenly  the  crowning  act  of  injus 
tice  which  had  been  inflicted  upon  him,  Grant  made  a  truthful 
and  soldierly  statement  of  his  conduct  up  to  that  time,  closing 
with  the  request  "  to  be  relieved  from  further  duty  in  the 
Department."  Instead  of  granting  this  request  Halleck  re 
iterated  his  unwarranted  rebukes,  to  which  Grant  replied  by 
requesting  to  be  relieved  from  further  duty  till  he  could  place 
himself  right  in  the  estimation  of  those  higher  in  authority. 
The  decided  and  spirited  tone  of  this  letter  seems  to  have 
brought  Halleck  to  his  senses  at  last,  for  about  the  middle  of 
March  he  answered  Grant  that  he  could  not  be  relieved  from 
duty,  but  as  soon  as  it  could  be  assembled  in  the  field,  he 
must  resume  command  of  his  new  army  and  lead  it  on  to  new 
victories. 

In  accordance  with  this  authority,  Grant  took  command  of 
his  troops,  and  began  at  once  to  make  preparations  for  putting 


72  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

them  in  the  field.  But  the  first  order  he  received  from  Hal- 
leek  was :  "  Don't  bring  on  a  general  engagement ;  if  the 
enemy  appear  in  force,  our  troops  must  fall  back — General 
Smith  must  hold  his  position  without  exposing  himself." 

In  the  meantime  General  Smith  had  pushed  forward  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Eastport  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  move 
ment  against  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  some 
where  between  Decatur  and  Corinth,  but  under  the  influence 
of  Halleck's  timid  and  vacillating  policy  this  movement  was 
paralyzed,  almost  at  the  outset,  and  was  finally  abandoned 
without  resulting  in  serious  injury  to  the  enemy.  The  rebels, 
having  sent  a  small  force  from  Corinth,  which  seemed  to 
threaten  Smith's  rear,  he  fell  back  from  Eastport  and  disem 
barked  his  forces  at  Savannah,  and  at  Crump's  and  Pittsburg 
Landings. 

By  this  time  the  rebel  policy  of  concentration  had  begun 
to  develop  itself,  and  in  order  to  counteract  it,  Buell  was  or 
dered  from  Nashville  to  Savannah  by  the  way  of  Columbia 
and  TVaynesboro,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  re-enforce  the 
army  on  the  Tennessee,  and  to  prepare  it  for  a  desperate 
struggle.  Volunteers  from  all  parts  of  the  North-west  were 
rapidly  sent  forward.  They  were  composed  of  good  and  true 
men  but  none  of  them  had  seen  service,  and  many  of  them 
were  not  even  provided  with  arms  and  camp  equipage.  As 
a  matter  of  course,  no  forward  movement  except  with  the 
older  troops  could  be  made  till  these  deficiencies  had  been 
in  a  measure  supplied.  The  new  regiments  were  assigned  to 
brigades  and  divisions  as  fast  as  they  arrived,  new  encamp 
ments  were  formed,  and  whatever  could  be  done,  was  done  to 
get  the  army  into  shape. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  Grant  assumed  direct  command 
of  the  troops,  with  his  head-quarters  at  Savannah,  a  small 
town  on  the  east  side  of  the  Tennessee  Eiver,  from  which 
communication  could  be  kept  up  with  Buell,  now  known  to 
be  moving  in  that  direction.  He  found  McClernand's  and 
Smith's  divisions,  the  oldest  and  best  part  of  the  army,  en 
camped  at  that  place  ;  "Wallace  lay  at  Crump's  Landing,  still 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  73 

farther  up  the  river,  but  on  the  opposite  side  ;  while  Hurlbut 
and  Sherman  with  their  new  levies  were  some  miles  further 
on  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  Seeing  at  a  glance,  that  in  the 
event  of  an  attack,  his  army  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the 
enemy,  Grant  determined  to  concentrate  without  delay  at 
Pittsburg  Landing. 

Accordingly,  McClernand  and  Smith  were  sent  thither  as 
fast  as  the  steamboats  could  carry  them.  Wallace  was  re 
garded  as  being  within  supporting  distance,  and  was  there 
fore  left  in  his  old  camp,  with  orders  to  keep  a  lookout  for  the 
enemy  in  the  direction  of  Purdy. 

The  point  at  which  the  troops  were  concentrated,  is  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  twenty  miles  north-east  from  Corinth, 
and  was  first  selected  by  General  Smith.  It  was  well  chosen, 
for  although  it  lay  upon  the  side  of  the  river  next  to  the 
enemy,  it  gave  our  troops  the  power  of  moving  out  for  battle 
at  any  time  as  a  unit,  and  being  partially  covered  in  front  by 
Owl  Creek,  flanked  on  one  side  by  Lick  Creek  and  on  the 
other  by  Snake  Creek,  both  of  which  are  difficult  to  pass  at 
all  times,  and  specially  so  during  high  water,  it  was  suscepti 
ble  of  an  easy  defense.  Had  Savannah,  or  any  point  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  been  selected,  the  army  would  certainly 
have  been  safe  so  long  as  it  remained  stationary,  but  as  soon 
as  it  should  become  necessary  to  advance,  the  lack  of  steam 
boats  or  pontoons  to  cross  the  entire  army  at  once,  and  the 
danger  of  crossing  by  detachment,  would  have  more  than 
counter-balanced  the  danger  incurred  by  concentrating  at 
Pittsburg  Landing.  Grant  had  also  determined  to  remove 
his  head-quarters  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  as  soon  as  the  troops 
could  all  be  collected  there,  but  owing  to  a  deficiency  of 
steamboats,  it  required  a  longer  time  to  do  this  than  had  been 
expected.  On  the  4th  of  April,  however,  just  as  everything 
was  in  readiness  for  the  abandonment  of  Savannah,  Grant  re 
ceived  a  telegram  asking  him  to  meet  General  Buell  at  that 
place  the  next  day.  Desiring  to  confer  with  Buell,  the  order 
for  the  movement  was  suspended,  but  Buell  did  not  reach 
Savannah  as  expected,  and  Grant  was  compelled  to  wait  till 


74  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

the  Gth.  Bucll  began  his  movement  on  the  15th  of  March, 
and  although  the  distance  to  be  overcome  was  only  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles,  it  took  his  army  twenty-three  days 
to  reach  the  Tennessee  River. 

It  is  not  within  the  limits  of  this  work  to  give  the  details 
of  the  correspondence  between  Grant,  Halleck,  and  Buell, 
concerning  the  events  of  the  three  weeks  which  preceded  the 
battle  of  Shiloh.  But  after  careful  study  of  those  documents 
in  connection  with  the  fact  that  there  was  no  considerable 
force  of  armed  rebels  at  that  time,  in  all  Middle  Tennessee,  it 
is  hard  to  imagine  how  the  warmest  partisan  of  Buell  can 
claim  that  he  moved  with  proper  celerity.  The  simple  truth 
is  that  he  was -culpably  and  tardy  in  all  his  movements,  then 
as  well  as  frequently  afterwards.  To  him  alone  belongs  the 
blame,  if  there  is  any  due,  for  whatever  advantage  the  rebels 
gained  by  having  the  preponderance  of  force  in  the  first  day 
of  the  battle  at  Shiloh. 

Grant  has  been  severely  and  unjustly  criticised  for  the  con 
dition  in  which  his  army  was  caught  by  that  battle.  He  has 
been  charged  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  responsibility  for 
the  absence  of  pontoons,  the  insufficiency  of  river  transporta 
tion,  the  delay  of  Buell,  both  in  the  march  and  in  crossing  the 
river,  the  alleged  disadvantages  of  the  field  on  which  he 
fought,  the  rawness  of  the  troops,  and  the  three  weeks  of  in 
activity  after  he  arrived  at  Savannah.*  But  when  it  is  remem 
bered  that  Halleck  with  his  head-quarters  at  St.  Louis,  five 
hundred  miles  away,  held  general  command  and  directed  the 
movements  of  all  the  loyal  forces  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Missouri,  forwarded  the  re-enforcements,  controlled  the 
supplies  of  every  kind,  including  pontoons  and  river  transpor 
tation,  assigned  commanders,  and  dictated  the  minutest  details 
of  the  policy  which  they  were  to  pursue,  it  may  be  justly 
stated  that  he  was  mainly  responsible  for  the  deficiencies  which 
embarrassed  the  movements  of  the  army.  He  it  was  who 
forbade  all  movements  against  the  enemy  after  the  fall  of 
Donelson,  "  till  re-enforcements  were  received,"  who  super- 
*  See  "  Swinton's  Twelve  Decisive  Battles  of  the  War  "—Article,  Shiloh. 


LIFE   OF  ULYSSES   8.  GRANT.  75 

ceded  Grant,  and  kept  him  in  disgrace  at  Fort  Henry,  till  the 
advance  of  the  army,  had  been  arrested,  and  who,  even  after 
the  restoration  of  Grant  to  his  command  again,  forbade  him 
to  move  against  the  enemy  till  Buell  should  arrive. 

Following  sharply  upon  the  commencement  of  Smith's  op 
erations  in  the  direction  of  Eastport,  the  concentration  of  rebel 
troops  at  Corinth  began.  Beauregard,  who  had  been  sent  to  the 
South-west,  with  unlimited  authority,  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  to  consummate  this  movement.  Having  determined, 
wisely  for  the  rebels,  to  inaugurate  a  new  policy  that  should 
be  aggressive  instead  of  defensive,  he  ordered  Polk  to  with 
draw  from  Columbus,  and  sent  a  part  of  his  force  to  Island 
No.  10,  which  had  been  fortified  for  their  reception.  But  the 
larger  part  consisting  of  two  strong  divisions,  were  hurried 
rapidly  to  Corinth.  Bragg's  fine  corps,  said  to  be  "the 
best  troops  in  the  Confederacy,"  were  brought  up  from  Mo 
bile  and  Pensacola,  while  Johnston's  army  consisting  of  Har- 
dee's  corps  and  Breckenridge's  division,  were  brought  by  rail 
from  Murfreesboro  and  Chattanooga.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
Governors  of  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Georgia  and 
Tennessee,  were  called  upon  for  volunteers,  and  in  speedy 
response  sent  forward  their  people  towards  Corinth  by  regi 
ments,  companies,  squads  and  singly.  Johnston  being  the 
senior  officer  assumed  the  general  command,  though  Beaure 
gard  was  the  controlling  spirit.  Scouts  and  spies  kept  them 
informed  of  everything  going  on  in  the  national  camp,  and 
advised  them  promptly  of  Buell's  progress.  When  Buell's 
bridge  over  Duck  River  was  finished,  and  news  reached  them 
of  his  advance  towards  Savannah,  they  determined  to  fall  at 
once  upon  Grant.  On  the  3rd  of  April,  this  movement  began, 
but  on  account  of  bad  roads  and  difficult  marching,  it  was 
not  till  night  of  the  next  day,  that  the  main  interval  had  been 
passed.  The  expectation  of  the  rebels  was  to  attack  at  dawn 
of  the  5th,  but  before  that  time  a  furious  rain-storm  set  in 
and  suspended  all  further  operations  for  twenty-four  hours. 
The  rebel  cavalry  and  small  detachments  had  made  their  ap 
pearance  along  the  Union  outposts,  as  early  as  the  2d  of 


76  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

April,  so  that  skirmishes  were  of  almost  hourly  occurrence, 
till  the  battle  itself  finally  burst  upon  the  army.* 

The  general  features  of  the  field  upon  which  the  battle  of 
Shiloh  was  fought,  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows :  It  is 
a  rugged  plateau,  ninety  or  a  hundred  feet  above  the  river, 
seamed  and  broken  by  ravines,  and  covered  throughout  its 
extent,  by  dense  forests,  and  underbrush,  except  at  wide  in 
tervals,  where  small  fields  have  been  cleared  for  cultivation. 
Falling  off  gradually  towards  the  interior,  it  is  limited  on  the 
north  and  south  by  Lick  and  Snake  Creeks,  which  empty  into 
the  Tennessee  about  four  miles  apart,  and  both  which  are  im 
passible  during  high  water.  Between  two  and  three  miles 
from  the  river,  the  heads  and  affluents  of  these  streams  inter 
lace  and  seam  the  plateau  into  ugly  and  difficult  ridges. 
Pittsburg  Landing,  with  its  two  or  three  log  cabins,  had  been 
at  one  time  an  important  shipping  point,  but  since  the  days 
of  railroads  its  glory  had  departed.  The  roads,  however, 
which  connect  it  with  Purdy,  Corinth,  Hamburg  and  Crump's 
Landing,  rendered  it  easily  accessible  from  the  surrounding 
country. 

The  morning  of  Sunday,  April  6th,  which  broke  clear  and 
bright,  found  Grant  anxious  and  uneasy  still  detained  at  Sa 
vannah  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  Buell.  The  contin 
uous  skirmishing  of  the  few  days  just  passed,  together  with  the 
information  gathered  from  scouts  and  rebel  prisoners  had  put 
him  on  his  guard.  The  army  was  encamped  in  the  following 
order :  Hurl  but  and  Wallace  held  an  interior  position,  stretch 
ing  from  the  Tennessee  Eiver  across  the  lower  bridge  on  Snake 
Creek,  while  Sherman,  McClernand  and  Prentiss  occupied  an 
irregular  line,  something  over  a  mile  farther  out,  of  which  the 
key  point  was  near  Shiloh  Church  on  the  main  road  to  Corinth. 

*  "  Campaigns  of  General  Forrest,"  p.  Ill :  "  But  General  Beauregard  earn 
estly  advised  the  idea  of  attacking  the  enemy  should  be  abandoned,  and  that 
the  whole  force  should  return  to  Corinth,  inasmuch  as  it  was  now  scarcely  pos 
sible  they  would  be  able  to  take  the  Federals  unawares,  after  such  delay,  and 
the  noisy  demonstrations  which  had  been  made  meanwhile." 

Same,  p.  113:  During  Saturday,  ''there  was  a  good  deal  of  unimportant 
but  lively  skirmishing."  • 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  77 

The  right  of  this  line  was  held  by  McDowell's  brigade  of 
Sherman's  division,  occupying  a  position  on  the  Purdy  road 
near  the  crossing  of  Owl  Creek;  the  left  resting  on  the  Ten 
nessee,  was  held  by  Stuart's  brigade  of  the  same  division,  well 
posted  on  the  Hamburg  road  just  north  of  Lick  Creek ;  while 
the  center  was  held  by  the  two  remaining  brigades  of  Sher 
man's  division,  posted  near  Shiloh  Church,  nearly  three  miles 
out  on  the  Corinth  road,  assisted  by  Prentiss,  whose  division 
still  farther  to  the  left,  covered  a  net-work  of  paths  connecting 
the  main  roads  to  Corinth  and  Hamburg.  McClernand  lay 
from  a  quarter  to  a  half  mile  behind  Sherman  with  his  right 
somewhat  refused ;  Lewis  Wallace  was  at  Crump's  Landing. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Grant's  army  was  formed  in  two 
lines,  something  over  a  mile  apart,  with  the  advanced  line 
strongly  re-enforced  on  the  right.  His  entire  force  on  the 
field  was  thirty-three  thousand  men,  or  thirty-eight  thousand 
with  Wallace's  division.  It  has  been  stated  that  Grant's 
army  was  surprised  in  its  camp,  but  this  statement  like  many 
others,  has  not  stood  the  test  of  investigation.  Neither  Hal- 
leek,  Grant  nor  Buell,  expected  the  rebel  army  to  sally  from 
its  works  to  offer  battle,  but  when  it  did  so,  its  coming  was  no 
secret.  Both  Sherman  and  Prentiss  were  on  the  alert  at  an 
early  hour ;  their  outposts,  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
advance,  had  discovered  the  enemy  on  the  5th,  and  had  been 
strongly  re-enforced.  At  early  dawn  both  divisions  were  under 
arms  and  ready  for  the  conflict  about  to  burst  upon  them. 

The  rebel  army  advanced  to  the  attack  along  all  the  roads 
leading  from  Corinth,  with  its  three  corps  formed  in  line,  one 
behind  another,  Hardee  leading,  followed  by  Bragg,  and  then 
by  Polk  and  the  reserve  under  Breckenridge.*  The  outposts 
of  Prentiss  and  Sherman,  received  the  first  onset  of  the 

'; "  Forrest  and  his  Campaigns  "  gives  the  rebel  force  as  follows  : 

1.  Folk's  corps,  2  Divisions,  4  Brigades,  10,000  men,  effective. 

2.  Bragg's   "     2  6        "          15,000    " 

3.  Hardee's"     2        "          6        "          13,500    "  " 
Cavalry,                                                  4,500 

Total,  43,000  men  and  50  guns. 


78  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

enemy,  but  stubbornly  disputing  every  step  of  the  ground, 
falling  back  slowly  from  tree  to  tree,  and  making  every  log 
and  ridge  a  breastwork,  they  stayed  the  enemy's  advance,  for 
an  hour  and  a  half.  By  half-past  seven  o'clock  the  battle  had 
begun  to  rage  heavily  along  the  entire  Union  center.  Hardee, 
with  his  two  wide  stretching  divisions  had  pressed  close  in 
upon  Prentiss,  overlapping  him  on  both  flanks  and  extending 
well  across  Sherman's  front,  but  by  this  time  his  lines  had 
been  broken  and  filled  with  intervals,  into  which  Bragg  lost 
no  time  in  pushing  his  well  disciplined  regiments  and  bri 
gades.  The  force  now  converging  their  fire  upon  Prentiss' 
front,  consisted  of  nearly  three  full  divisions,  and  several 
batteries,  while  the  rest  of  the  rebel  forces,  under  Hindman, 
Cleburne  and  Wood,  were  pressing  forward  heavily  against 
Sherman.  Fortunately  they  were  met  by  men  who  were  as 
brave  and  steady  as  themselves,  though  far  newer  in  the  ser 
vice  of  battle.  By  eight  o'clock  the  struggle  was  raging 
furiously  at  every  point.  Sherman  and  Prentiss  were  inde 
fatigable  in  their  efforts  to  hold  their  hard  pressed  and  over 
matched  battalions  to  the  deadly  work ;  their  batteries  were 
well  posted  and  well  served,  and  their  infantry  delivered  a  fire 
as  deadly  as  that  they  received.  But  Folk's  divisions  soon 
swelled  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  Johnston  and  Beauregard 
seemed  determined  to  sweep  everything  before  them  by  the 
very  force  of  numbers,  and  in  a  fury  of  determination  pressed 
forward,  regiment,  brigade  and  division,  with  unrelenting 
vigor.  Gradually  the  flanks  of  Prentiss'  division  were  pressed 
back,  and  then  the  center,  by  the  overwhelming  force  which 
fell  upon  them.  Sherman's  left,  composed  of  raw  recruits, 
was  also  compelled  to  give  ground  shortly  afterwards,  but 
that  gallant  General  still  held  his  right  and  center  at  Shiloh 
Church,  with  the  tenacity  of  a  bull-dog.  By  this  time  his 
left,  strengthened  by  four  regiments  from  Hurlbut's  division, 
and  three  regiments  and  several  batteries,  (the  veterans  of 
Donelson,)  from  McClernand's  division,  had  filled  the  gap 
between  Sherman  and  Prentiss,  and  with  a  gallantry  rarely 
equalled  they  stayed  the  rebel  advance. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  79 

Grant  had  taken  an  early  breakfast,  at  his  head-quarters 
near  Savannah,  and  was  about  starting  to  meet  Buell,  when 
he  heard  the  opening  guns  of  the  enemy.  With  his  usual 
promptitude  he  dispatched  an  order  to  Nelson,  commanding 
Buell's  leading  division,  to  push  forward  to  Pittsburg  as  rap 
idly  as  possible.  He  also  wrote  to  Buell,  telling  him  that  the 
action  had  begun — and  then  set  out  for  Pittsburg  Landing, 
where  he  arrived  at  eight  o'clock,  having  stopped  on  his  way 
at  Crump's,  and  ordered  Wallace  to  hold  himself  in  readiness 
either  to  march  to  the  battle-field  or  to  defend  his  camp. 

Grant  hastened  at  once  to  the  front,  encouraging  men  and 
officers,  pushing  forward  .  supplies  of  ammunition,  ordering 
stragglers  to  rejoin  their  colors,  sending  re-enforcements  to 
various  parts  of  the  line,  and  fearlessly  exposing  himself  on 
every  part  of  the  field.  His  efforts  were  unceasing  but  his 
hard  pressed  army  was  gradually  driven  back.  At  10  o'clock 
he  had  reached  the  extreme  advance,  and  was  helping  Sher 
man  to  hold  his  staggering  forces  to  their  work.  By  this 
time  Hurlbut,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  (with  Smith's  veteran  di 
vision),  and  McClernand,  had  moved  up  to  strengthen  the  cen 
ter,  lying  between  and  across  the  two  roads  to  Corinth.  Every 
brigade  was  now  engaged  ;  Stuart  held  the  left,  then  came 
Hurlbut,  then  the  remnant  of  Prentiss'  division,  next  Wal 
lace  ;  next  McClernand,  and  finally  Sherman.  In  this  order, 
our  troops,  although  assailed  by  nearly  double  their  numbers, 
fought  the  battle  through.  First  one  part  and  then  another 
of  the  line  receiving  the  full  force  of  the  rebel  attack,  the 
army  was  gradually  driven  towards  the  Landing.  Hurlbut's 
line  was  repeatedly  broken  but  not  disheartened  ;  he  re-formed 
it  and  held  on,  yielding  only  when  overpowered.  Prentiss,  by 
dint  of  extra  stubbornness,  or  being  more  fortunate — perhaps 
more  unfortunate — maintained  his  position  till  he  had  been 
surrounded  and  captured  with  nearly  three  thousand  of  his 
men.  Wallace  was  killed,  and  his  division  pressed  back  si 
multaneously  with  Hurlbut,  carrying  back  McClernand's  left ; 
and  finally  even  Sherman  was  compelled  to  yield,  yet  the  day 
was  not  lost  irrevocably.  If  Buell  or  Wallace  would  only 


80  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

come,  victory  might  be  snatched  from  the  jaws  of  defeat. 
Many  men  had  fled  from  the  field  early  in  the  fight,  and 
sought  safety  at  the  Landing— but  the  heroes  of  Fredericks- 
town,  Belmont,  and  Donelson,  showed  themselves  to  be  veter 
ans  in  every  sense,  their  splendid  valor  remaining  unshaken, 
though  their  ranks  had  been  terribly  thinned. 

Early  in  the  day,  Grant  dispatched  orders  for  Lewis  Wal 
lace  to  march  to  the  battle ;  and  as  the  fight  grew  in  fierce 
ness,  couriers  and  staff  officers  were  sent  to  hurry  his  laggard 
footsteps.  But  through  some  untoward  fatality,  night  closed 
upon  the  struggle  before  Wallace  had  overcome  the  few  short 
miles  which  separated  him  from  fame  and  the  stricken  field. 
Xelson  and  Wood,  commanding  divisions  of  Buell's  army, 
now  known  to  have  reached  the  river,  were  also  urged  to 
lose  no  time,  in  crossing  to  Grant's  assistance. 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  when  Buell,  in  person, 
arrived  upon  the  field,  in  advance  of  his  troops.  Almost  his 
first  question  was  :  "  What  preparations  have  you  made  for 
retreating,  General  ?  "  Grant,  to  whom  the  question  was  ad 
dressed,  replied  with  the  courage  of  a  paladin:  "  1 "have  not 
despaired  of  whipping  them  yet!"  * 

Nelson's  troops  began  to  arrive  upon  the  field  at  a  little 
before  five  o'clock,  and  were  ordered  into  position  on  the  left 
of  the  line,  but  not  till  the  action  had  nearly  ceased.  They 
lost  only  three  men  before  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  battle. 

Johnston  had  been  killed  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  Beaure- 
gard  took  his  place  and  continued  to  press  his  jaded  troops  to 
the  attack.  By  four  o'clock  the  Union  forces  had  been  driven 
nearly  two  miles  backward,  into  the  angle  between  Lick  Creek 
and  the  river.  The  left  flank  resting  upon  the  ridge  just  be 
low  the  landing,  was  strongly  posted  and  covered  by  a  battery 
of  some  forty  guns  of  all  calibres  which  Colonel  Webster  ot 
Grant's  staff,  had  posted  and  manned  with  volunteer  artillery 

*  Buell  is  said  to  have  renewed  this  conversation  several  days  afterwards, 
and  by  way  of  reproach  said  to  Grant :  "  You  hadn't  steamboats  enough  to 
carry  away  10,000  men."  "  Well,"  replied  Grant,  "  there  wouldn't  have  been 
more  than  that  many  left  by  the  time  I  should  have  got  ready  to  go." 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  81 

men.  The  right  rested  on  the  creek  a  mile  and  a  half  away, 
covering  the  road  by  which  Wallace  was  expected  to  arrive. 
Two  gun-boats  had  taken  their  stations  opposite  the  mouth 
of  a  deep  ravine,  behind  which  our  troops  were  posted.  In 
this  position  the  national  army  received  and  repelled  again 
and  again  the  final  attacks  of  the  enemy ;  but  again  and  again 
did  Beauregard,  Bragg,  Hardee,  Polk  and  Breckenridge  lead 
their  soldiers  to  the  assault.  They  did  all  that  human  nature 
could  do.  Webster's  artillery,  poured  out  its  ready  canister, 
the  gun-boats  swept  the  rebel  flanks,  while  the  broken  but 
still  undaunted  regiments  of  the  Union  delivered  their  with 
ering  fire.  Before  night  closed  upon  the  scene,  Beauregard 
saw  that  to  struggle  longer  could  have  no  other  result  than  to 
swell  the  list  of  his  killed  and  wounded. 

With  his  usual  sagacity,  Grant  rode  towards  the  right  and 
told  Sherman  the  story  of  Donelson — how  the  armies  had 
fought  till  both  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  how  he  had  seen 
that  the  next  blow  struck  would  win  the  battle.  It  was  too 
late  and  his  troops  were  too  much  jaded  to  take  the  initiative 
then,  but  he  ordered  Sherman  to  attack  at  dawn  in  the  morn 
ing.* 

During  the  night,  Nelson,  together  with  most  of  McCook's 
and  Crittenden's  divisions  of  Buell's  army,  nearly  twenty 
thousand  men  in  all,  arrived  upon  the  field,  and  took  position 
along  the  left  of  the  line  of  battte.  Lewis  Wallace,  after 
marching  and  countermarching  all  day,  within  five  miles  of 
the  field,  also  made  his  appearance  at  nightfall  after  Grant 
had  superintended  the  re-adjustment  of  his  line,  assigned  the 
new  divisions  to  their  stations,  and  visited  the  different  Com 
manders  giving  each  his  orders  to  advance  at  early  dawn.  Both 
hosts  slept  upon  their  arms.  The  wounded  remained  uncared 
for  except  by  Providence  ;  the  dead  leaves  of  the  forest  in 

*  From  "  The  Campaigns  of  Gen.  Forrest,"  it  appears  that  Beauregard  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  Buell's  arrival  upon  the  field,  and  even  when  informed 
by  Forrest  of  this  fact,  refused  to  believe  it.  It  seems  that  he  had  received 
intelligence  that  Buell  was  moving  with  his  whole  force  upon  Florence,  and 
therefore  could  not  understand  the  possibility  of  a  junction  between  Buell  and 
Grant.  P.  136-6. 
6 


82  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

which  they  lay,  took  fire,  but  shortly  afterwards  a  rain  storm 
broke  upon  the  field  and  extinguished  the  flames.  At  inter 
vals  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  throughout  the  night,  the  gun 
boats  threw  their  ponderous  shells  into  the  enemy's  camp. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  April  7th,  the  national  troops  with 
renewed  confidence  and  vigor,  began  the  battle  afresh.  The 
divisions  of  McCook,  Crittenden  and  Nelson  formed  the  left ; 
Hurlbut's,  Sherman's  and  McClernand's  divisions,  between 
which  Wallace's  division  and  the  remnant  of  Prentiss'  had 
been  distributed,  held  the  center;  and  Lewis  Wallace's  division 
the  extreme  right.  In  this  order  they  moved  out  to  the  fight. 
The  rebels  had  not  heard  of  Buell's  arrival,  and  yet  they  had 
not  ventured  to  attack.  The  confident  advance  of  the  Union 
army,  and  the  steady  rattle  of  musketry  soon  convinced  them 
that  the  tide  of  victory  had  turned  for  good  and  all.  They 
resisted  stubbornly,  disputed  every  ravine,  and  wooded  knoll, 
and  seemed  determined  for  honor's  sake,  if  not  for  victory,  to 
hold  what  they  had  won ;  but  the  splendid  battle  tactics  of 
Buell,  the  gallantry  of  his  magnificent  army,  the  steady  cour 
age  of  Lewis  Wallace's  division,  and  as  much  as  all  other 
things  combined,  the  keen  anxiety  of  Hurlbut's,  McClernand's, 
and  Sherman's  gallant  men  to  wipe  out  the  misfortunes  of  yes 
terday,  carried  the  Union  flags  triumphantly  forward.  Beau- 
regard  made  desperate  efforts  to  advance  his  right,  strongly 
formed  and  supported  by  his  batteries,  and  although  he 
checked  for  awhile  the  advance  of  McCook,  Crittenden  and 
Nelson's  new  and  well  drilled  regiments,  he  was  soon  com 
pelled  to  give  way  in  order  to  save  his  line  of  retreat.  Sher 
man,  McClernand  and  Lewis  Wallace  had  pressed  forward 
with  such  ardor  as  to  crowd  back  the  rebel  left  beyond  all 
hope  of  recovery.  This  relieved  the  pressure  from  Buell's 
front,  and  enabled  him  to  renew  the  onset  successfully.  The 
rebels  fought  well,  but  at  no  time  did  they  check  any  con 
siderable  part  of  the  Union  line.  Grant,  being  Buell's  senior, 
was  in  command  of  the  entire  army,  and  spared  no  effort  to 
make  his  victory  complete.  He  exposed  himself  fully  when 
ever  occasion  required  it ;  and  at  one  time  he  took  command 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

in  person  of  a  wavering  regiment  and  led  it  forward  to  the 
assault  of  the  enemy's  line.  Shiloh  Church  was  regained, 
the  lost  guns  were  recaptured,  and  others  were  wrested 
from  the  enemy.  After  this,  the  resistance  grew  weaker  and 
weaker  at  every  step.  By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the 
rebels  were  in  full  retreat  and  fighting  only  for  safety.  They 
retired  sullenly  but  covered  by  Breckenridge's  division  which 
had  seen  less  fighting  than  the  rest  of  the  army,  their  retreat 
did  not  become  a  rout.  Rain  had  again  set  in,  the  roads  were 
bad,  and  all  parts  of  the  army  were  much  fatigued  by  march 
ing  and  fighting.  Nothing  more  could  be  done.  Grant  was 
compelled  reluctantly  to  rest  upon  his  victory,  but  sent  two 
brigades  of  Wood's  division  with  a  part  of  Sherman's  to 
watch  the  enemy  and  press  his  retreat. 

The  rebels  in  this  battle  had  intended  to  destroy  Grant's 
army  before  Buell  could  reach  it ;  they  had  fought  with  great 
desperation,  without  much  effort  at  grand  tactics  or  combina 
tion,  resting  their  entire  hopes  upon  superior  weight  and  im 
pulse  to  drive  Grant  into  the  river.  It  has  been  claimed  that 
had  Johnston  not  been  killed,  or  had  Beauregard  renewed  the 
action  after  five  o'clock,  his  plan  must  have  been  successful. 
Others  have  asserted  that  Grant's  army  would  have  been  de 
stroyed  but  for  Buell's  timely  arrival.  But  Grant,  Sherman, 
McPherson,  Hurlbut,  McClernand  with  every  officer  of  spirit 
under  their  command  have  asserted  over  and  over  again,  that 
the  rebels  could  not  force  their  last  position,  though  they 
tried  it  with  all  the  valor  of  desperation.*  They  had  done 
their  best,  and  even  admit  in  their  official  reports  that  theii 
progress  was  stayed  in  the  full  tide  of  victory  not  by  night, 
for  still  one  hour  of  daylight  remained  when  their  last  assault 
was  made,  but  by  the  determined  resistance  of  Grant's  army, 
aided  by  the  fire  of  the  gun-boats.  A  careful  study  of  all  the 

*This  view  of  the  case  is  confirmed  by  "Forrest's  Campaigns."  That  vig 
orous  fighter  denies  the  efficiency  of  the  fire  from  the  gun-boats,  and  shows 
that  the  desperate  fighting  of  the  Union  forces,  aided  by  the  difficult  ground 
in  their  front,  was  the  cause  of  Beauregard's  failure  to  carry  Grant's  last 
position. 


84  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

official  reports,  both  rebel  and  national,  leaves  scarcely  room 
to  doubt  that  had  Lewis  Wallace  arrived  upon  the  field  by 
four  o'clock,  Grant  would  have  gained  a  complete  victory 
before  nightfall.  Buell's  arrival  was  opportune,  and  when 
brought  into  action  his  troops  behaved  admirably,  rendering 
that  secure  which  fortune  might  otherwise  have  left  in  doubt; 
but  it  will  be  remembered  to  the  credit  of  Grant  as  long  as 
fortitude  and  steadfast  courage  are  looked  upon  as  virtues, 
that  he  had  not  despaired  of  beating  the  rebels  when  the  tide 
of  defeat  seemed  to  have  set  heaviest  against  him.* 

The  Union  losses,  including  those  of  Buell's  army,  taken 
from  official  returns,  amounted  to  about  1,750  killed,  7,400 
wounded,  and  3,200  missing,  in  all  12,350,  while  the  rebels 
report  their  losses  at  1,728  killed,  8,012  wounded,  959  miss 
ing,  total,  10,699.  Omitting  the  missing  on  both  sides,  the 
rebels  lost  nearly  six  hundred  more  men  than  Grant.  This 
simple  fact  of  itself  ought  to  put  to  rest  forever  the  story  that 
Grant  was  surprised.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  army 
fallen  upon  by  surprise  ever  fought  such  a  battle  as  that  of 
Shiloh. 

*  Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  General  Grant  telegraphed  to  Halleck : 
"  To  Sherman,  more  than  to  any  other  man  is  due  the  salvation  of  the  army." 
Halleck  immediately  sent  a  message  to  Washington  ignoring  Grant  entirely, 
but  using  his  very  words  in  commending  Sherman.  These  words  from  Grant 
were  a  graceful  and  well  merited  compliment  to  a  gallant  subordinate ;  but  their 
use  by  Halleck  was  an  indirect  and  treacherous  blow  at  Graat'i  reputation. 


CHAPTER    X. 

GRANT'S  ADVANCE  IN  SIGHT  OF  CORINTH — HALLECK  ARRIVES  AND 
ASSUMES  COMMAND — THE  TROOPS  DISPIRITED  BY  HIS  POLICY — THE 
ARMY  REORGANIZED — SIEGE  OF  CORINTH — GRANT  IN  UNMERITED 

DISGRACE — ADVISES  HALLECK  TO  ATTACK — IS  REBUKED — ASKS  FOR 
LEAVE  OF  ABSENCE — SHERMAN  COUNSELS  HIM  TO  REMAIN — DIS 
ASTROUS  RESULTS  OF  HALLECK'S  POLICY — CORINTH  EVACUATED — 
HALLECK  DISPERSES  THE  ARMY  AND  GOES  TO  WASHINGTON  AS 
GENERAL-IN-CHIEF — OFFERS  COMMAND  TO  COLONEL  ALLEN — GRANT 
RESTORED — BATTLE  OF  IUKA — BATTLE  OF  CORINTH — GRANT'S  OR 
DER  OF  CONGRATULATION  —  SUMMARY — GRANT'S  GENERALSHIP — 
BUELL  AND  ROSECRANS  REWARDED  FOR  HIS  VICTORIES. 

IT  has  been  seen  how  two  armies,  whose  combined  force 
could  not  be  far  from  seventy-five  thousand  men,  united  upon 
the  field  of  Shiloh ;  and  how  on  the  second  day,  they  swept 
Beauregard's  shattered  battalions  in  confusion  and  dismay 
from  the  field.  Everything  was  now  in  our  favor.  The 
rebel  leaders  had  carried  out  their  policy  of  concentration 
with  skill,  and  had  hurled  their  united  forces  into  battle  with 
frantic  vigor,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  Union  host  had  but 
to  press  their  advantage  to  carry  their  victorious  colors  to  the 
remotest  corners  of  the  South-west.  Grant  saw  this,  and  had 
he  been  left  in  untrammeled  command,  would  have  give.n  the 
rebels  no  place  of  rest. 

His  advance  under  Sherman  had  pressed  to  within  sight  of 
Corinth,  while  the  main  body  of  the  jaded  army  was  reform 
ing  its  disordered  ranks,  burying  the  dead  and  gaining  a  par 
tial  respite  from  the  fatigues  of  battle  and  the  march.  At 
this  time,  the  9th  of  April,  Major-General  Halleck  appeared 
upon  the  scene,  and  immediately  assumed  command.  The 
army  thenceforth  made  no  movement  towards  Corinth,  except 


86  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

for  the  purpose  of  entrenching.     The  musket  and   carbine 
were  discarded,  while  the  shovel  and  axe  were  in  constant 
requisition.     Grant  was  again  practically  removed  from  all 
control  of  troops,  but  this  time  under  the  pretext  of  making 
him  "  second  in  command."     The  army  was  reorganized,  and 
called  the  army  of  the  Mississippi.     It  was  divided  into  a 
right,  left,  center  and  reserve,  Buell's  force  being  made  the 
nucleus  of  organization.     Thomas  commanded  the  right,  com 
posed  mostly  of  Grant's  troops ;  Pope  commanded  the  center, 
made  up  principally  of  the  troops  which  he  had  brought  from 
Island  No.  10 ;  Buell  commanded  the  left,  while  McClernand 
commanded  the  reserve.     Re-enforcements  and  materials  of 
all  kinds  were  hurried  forward  from  the  North,  with  bound 
less  liberality,  for  the  country  had  been  taught  to  believe 
through  Halleck's  spiritless  policy  and  the  persistent  misrep 
resentations  which  had  been  circulated  far  and  wide  against 
Grant  and  his  troops,  that  Shiloh  had  been  a  disastrous  de 
feat  instead  of  a  splendid  victory.     Six  precious  weeks  were 
squandered,  in  what  Halleck,  with  ridiculous  pedantry,  called 
the  "  Siege  of  Corinth."    'During  all  this  time  the  rebels 
made  no  show  of  advancing,  but  remained  quietly  in  their 
entrenchments,  studying  how  they  might  abandon  them  with 
out  appearing  to  have  done  so.     The  national  troops,  now  in 
creased  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  in  number,  were 
converted  into  ditchers  instead  of  being  used   as   soldiers. 
Every  foot  of  ground,  between   Shiloh  meeting-house  and 
the  rebel  works,  was  laboriously  shoveled  behind  the  army,  in 
order  that  it  might  get  within  sight  of  fortifications  which  it 
found  empty,  or  guarded  only  by  Quaker  guns.     Fortunately 
for  his  reputation,  Grant,  as  before  stated,  was  permitted  to 
take  no  part  in  this  business.     When  orders  were  given  in  his 
presence,  it  was  either  done  in  a  whisper,  or  the  person  receiv 
ing  them  was  led  aside  so  that  Grant  should  not  hear  what 
was  said.     Upon  one  occasion  he  ventured  to  advise  an  attack, 
but  Halleck  scouted  his  advice,  and  intimated  too  plainly  to 
be  misunderstood,  that  when  his   opinions   were  thought  to 
be  sufficiently  important  they  would  be  duly  asked  for. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  87 

During  this  entire  campaign,  or  "  siege,"  Grant's  position 
was  a  false  one,  in  which,  injustice  was  continually  inflicted 
upon  him.  He  was  looked  upon  by  everybody  as  being  in 
disgrace — and  therefore  asked  for  a  leave  of  absence  in  order 
that  he  might  escape  from  unmerited  obloquy.  It  is  said  that 
for  a  time  he  thought  seriously  of  resigning,  and  did  ask  for 
a  leave  of  absence  that  he  might  give  Halleck  a  chance  to  get 
rid  of  him.  Sherman  counseled  him  to  remain,  and  for 
tunately  for  the  country  his  counsel  prevailed. 

This  volume  is  not  concerned  with  what  Halleck  might 
have  done,  after,  or  during  the  siege  of  Corinth,  but  did  not 
do,  for  that  would  swell  its  bulk  beyond  all  proportion.  The 
policy  of  dispersion,  or  "  pepper-box  strategy,"  as  it  has  been 
derisively  but  not  inaptly  called,  which  he  inaugurated  after 
the  evacuation  of  Corinth — sending  Buell  towards  Chatta 
nooga,  and  burying  Grant's  army  in  the  towns,  villages,  cross 
roads  and  elaborately  entrenched  camps  of  Northern  Mississippi 
and  West  Tennessee,  demands  the  severest  condemnation,  for  it 
lost  to  our  cause  the  advantage  of  its  past  successes,  delayed 
and  endangered  those  that  remained  yet  to  be  gained,  and  in 
flicted  upon  the  country  a  long  series  of  disgraceful  delays 
and  indecisive  combats.  Neither  can  we  do  more  than  make 
a  passing  allusion  to  the  campaign  of  General  Mitchell  into 
Northern  Alabama,  ending  with  the  occupation  of  Huntsville 
and  Decatur,  about  the  time  of  the  Corinth  campaign. 

Shortly  after  Buell  had  been  detached,  Halleck  went  to 
Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  upon  the  duties 
of  General-in-Chief,  to  which  position  he  had  been  called  by 
the  President,  but  before  starting,  he  shot  a  Parthian  arrow 
at  Grant  —  by  offering  the  command  of  the  army  to  Colonel 
Robert  Allen,  chief  supervising  quartermaster  in  the  West,  an 
educated  soldier  and  an  able  man.  It  was  only  when  Allen  pos 
itively  declined,  that  the  command  was  restored  to  Grant,  but 
with  still  restricted  authority.  He  was  ordered  to  garrison  a 
large  number  of  points  and  to  send  re-enforcements  to  Buell, 
in  doing  which  he  was  thrown  upon  the  defensive.  But  while 
Halleck  was  thus  scattering  the  national  forces,  the  rebels  had 


88  LIFE   OF  ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

been  taught  a  lesson,  which  made  them  concentrate  all  their 
available  means,  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Price  and  Van  Dorn 
were  ordered  to  remove  their  troops  from  the  trans-Missis 
sippi  department,  and  to  form  a  junction  with  Beauregard's 
army  at  Tupelo.  Bragg  had  already  crossed  into  Alabama 
and  Tennessee,  in  pursuit  of  Buell,  whom  he  ultimately  com 
pelled  to  fall  back  to  the  Ohio  River,  fighting  him  finally  at 
Perryville — and  then  retreating  to  Murfreesboro. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  Price  having  reached  Northern 
Mississippi  with  his  army  of  about  twelve  thousand  men, 
started  towards  luka,  where  he  arrived  on  the  19th,  having 
driven  in  small  detachments  of  the  national  troops  from  Jacinto 
and  Chewalla.  He  made  a  feint  of  following  Bragg  in  his 
northern  march,  in  the  hope  that  Grant  would  pursue  him, 
and  thus  leave  Corinth  an  easy  prey  to  Van  Dorn.  But 
Grant,  whose  head-quarters  were  at  Jackson,  Tennessee,  was 
too  sagacious  to  fall  into  such  a  trap.  Knowing  from  his  scouts 
that  Van  Dorn  could  not  reach  Corinth  for  four  or  five  days 
yet,  he  determined  to  crush  Price  by  sending  out  a  heavy  force 
under  Ord  and  Rosecrans,  who  had  succeeded  Pope.*  He 
therefore  threw  Ord  towards  luka,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
railroad,  re-enforcing  him  by  Ross'  brigade  from  Bolivar, 
bringing  his  force  up  to  about  five  thousand  men,  and  directed 
Rosecrans,  with  Hamilton's  and  Stanley's  divisions,  and  Miz- 
ner's  cavalry,  about  nine  thousand  men  in  all,  the  bulk  of  the 
force  from  Corinth,  to  move  towards  luka  by  the  way  of  Ja 
cinto  and  Fulton — hoping  thus  to  cut  off  the  rebel  retreat 
and  to  concentrate  a  force  sufficient  to  overwhelm  Price.  This 
combined  movement  commenced  at  an  early  hour  on  the  18& 
of  September,  and  although  the  distances  to  be  overcome 
did  not  exceed  in  either  case  thirty  miles,  the  rebels  discov 
ered  it  before  it  was  fairly  executed.  For  some  reason  not 
satisfactorily  explained,  Rosecrans  failed  to  occupy  the  Fulton 
road.  In  addition  to  this,  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  com 
municate  between  the  different  columns  or  between  them  and 
Grant's  head-quarters,  on  account  of  the  heavily  wooded 
*  Most  of  Pope's  troops  had  been  already  sent  back  to  Missouri. 


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LIFE  OF  ULTSSES  S.  GRANT.  89 

country  and  intricate  roads.  Hence  the  junction  of  Ord  and 
Eosecrans  did  not  take  place  till  after  the  latter  had  had  a 
desperate  and  only  partially  successful  engagement  with  Price. 
This  took  place  on  the  19th,  in  front  of  luka.  Eosecrans' 
troops  fought  well,  but  owing  to  the  exceedingly  difficult  na 
ture  of  the  ground,  he  was  not  able  to  bring  his  whole  com 
mand  into  action.  The  rebels  were  finally  defeated  after  a 
sanguinary  battle,  and  under  cover  of  night  retreated  rapidly 
southward  by  the  Fulton  road.  Their  loss  is  stated  by  Pol 
lard  the  rebel  historian  "  at  about  eight  hundred  killed  and 
wounded,"  not  counting  over  a  thousand  prisoners  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  victors.  Hamilton  and  Stanley  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  retreating  rebels,  but  did  not  again  come  up  with 
them. 

On  the  22d,  Grant  ordered  the  pursuit  to  be  discontinued, 
and  directed  Eosecrans  to  return  to  Corinth,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  26th.  Ord  was  sent  to  Bolivar,  and  Hurlbut  in  the 
direction  of  Pocahontas.  Price,  by  a  wide  circuit,  joined 
Van  Dorn  at  Eipley.  The  united  force  then  moved  in  the 
direction  of  Pocahontas. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  Yan  Dorn  and  Price,  with  three 
divisions  advanced  thence  towards  Corinth  by  the  way  of 
Che  walla. 

Shortly  after  Halleck  left  for  Washington,  Grant,  seeing 
that  the  old  works  were  too  extensive  to  be  held  by  any  rea 
sonable  force,  directed  the  construction  of  an  inner  ,and  much 
shorter  line  of  entrenchments  at  Corinth,  and  by  the  time  the 
rebels  made  their  appearance  in  front  of  these  works  they 
were  sufficiently  near  completion  to  be  used  for  defensive  pur 
poses.  Eosecrans  had  withdrawn  his  outposts  upon  the  first 
appearance  of  the  enemy  and  formed  his  line  over  a  mile  in 
front  of  the  fortifications.  Stanley  held  the  left  with  a  brigade 
and  a  battery,  advanced  still  farther  to  the  left.  Davies  occu 
pied  the  center,  and  Hamilton  the  right,  with  Mizner's  cavalry, 
posted  where  occasion  required  it.  The  rebels  advancing  on 
the  Chewalla  road,  soon  drove  in  Stanley's  advanced  brigade, 
which,  being  supported  by  another,  made  head  for  a  time.  But 


90  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

the  rebels,  continually  developing  their  front,  soon  hotly  en 
gaged  Davies'  division  also,  and  finally  the  entire  line.  Push 
ing  their  attack  with  great  vigor,  they  finally  compelled  Rose- 
crans  to  fall  back  with  the  loss  of  two  guns,  and  to  occupy  the 
fortifications.  He  was  not  again  attacked  that  night.  The 
comparative  ease  with  which  this  advantage  was  gained  led 
Van  Dora  to  believe  that  he  had  achieved  a  great  victory,  and 
in  emulation  of  Pillow's  example,  he  sent  to  Eichmond  a  hasty 
and  exultant  dispatch,  announcing  the  capture  of  Corinth. 
But  like  Pillow  again,  his  exultation  was  destined  to  end  in 
bitter  disappointment. 

At  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  action  was 
renewed  by  the  rebels,  who  opened  upon  the  Union  lines  with 
their  batteries,  and  at  half-past  nine  o'clock,  Price  assaulted 
the  Union  center  with  desperate  determination.  A  storm  of 
canister  and  grape  was  poured  upon  the  rebel  columns,  but 
with  only  partial  effect.  Cheered  on  by  their  gallant  but 
mistaken  officers,  they  renewed  the  attack,  now  become  gen 
eral,  and  soon  succeeded  in  breaking  Davies'  division  and  in 
forcing  the  head  of  their  column  into  the  town.  But  Rose- 
crans  concentrated  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery  upon  them,  and 
pushing  forward  the  Tenth  Ohio,  and  Fifth  Minnesota  regi 
ments,  followed  closely  by  Sullivan's  brigade,  succeeded  in 
driving  the  rebels  beyond  the  works  and  in  re-establishing 
Davies'  line.  In  the  meanwhile  Van  Dorn  had  formed  the 
right  of  his  army  into  column  of  attack,  and  under  cover  of 
a  heavy  skirmish  line,  was  leading  it  in  person  to  the  assault 
of  the  Union  left.  But  Rosecrans  was  ready  on  that  side 
also.  Stanley's  division  and  the  heavy  guns  of  Battery  Rob- 
inet,  manned  by  the  veterans  of  the  First  Regular  Infantry, 
made  answer  to  the  rebel  musketry,  and  with  round  shot, 
shell,  grape  and  canister,  played  dire  havoc  among  the  ad 
vancing  troops.  But  still  they  held  their  forward  course  till 
within  fifty  yards  of  our  works.  Here  they  received  a  deadly 
rifle  fire,  and  after  struggling  bravely  for  a  minute  to  face 
it,  they  were  compelled  to  fall  back.  Again  the  rebel  lead 
ers  led  their  men  forward,  to  the  very  ditches  and  parapets  of 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  91 

the  defenses,  but  again  were  they  bloodily  repulsed ;  this  time, 
however,  to  be  followed  by  the  gallant  soldiers  of  Ohio  and 
Missouri,  who,  seeing  the  enemy  falter,  poured  over  the  works 
and  drove  them  routed  and  broken,  back  to  the  woods  from 
which  they  had  advanced.  The  battle  had  spent  its  fury,  the 
rebels  were  no  longer  able  to  make  head,  and  lost  no  time  in 
withdrawing  their  disorganized  battalions  to  a  place  of  safety. 
They  left  dead,  upon  the  field,  1,420  officers  and  men,  and 
more  than  5,000  wounded,  besides  losing  2,248  prisoners, 
41  colors  and  2  guns.  The  next  day  Rosecrans,  re-enforced  by 
McPherson's  brigade,  began  the  pursuit,  but  he  had  lost 
eighteen  hours  and  could  not  regain  the  advantage  which  had 
thus  escaped.  The  following  extract  from  Grant's  order  of 
congratulation  tells  the  re§t  of  the  story : 

"  The  enemy  chose  his  own  time  and  place  of  attack,  and  knowing  the 
troops  of  the  West  as  he  does,  and  with  great  facilities  of  knowing  their 
numbers,  never  would  have  made  the  attempt,  except  with  a  superior 
force  numerically.  But  for  the  undaunted  bravery  of  officers  and  sol 
diers,  who  have  yet  to  learn  defeat,  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  must  have 
proven  successful. 

"  Whilst  one  division  of  the  army,  under  Major-General  Rosecrans, 
was  resisting  and  repelling  the  onslaught  of  the  rebel  hosts  at  Corinth, 
another  from  Bolivar,  under  Major-General  Hurlbut,  was  marching 
upon  the  enemy's  rear,  driving  in  their  pickets  and  cavalry,  and  attract 
ing  the  attention  of  a  large  force  of  infantry  and  artillery.  On  the 
following  day,  under  Major-General  Ord,  these  forces  advanced  with 
unsurpassed  gallantry,  driving  the  enemy  back  across  the  Hatchie,  over 
ground  where  it  is  almost  incredible  that  a  superior  force  should  be 
driven  by  an  inferior,  capturing  two  of  the  batteries,  (eight  guns,) 
many  hundred  small  arms,  and  several  hundred  prisoners. 

"  To  those  two  divisions  of  the  army  all  praise  is  due,  and  will  be 
awarded  by  a  grateful  country. 

"  Between  them  there  should  bo,  and  I  trust  are,  the  warmest  bonds 
of  brotherhood.  Each  was  risking  life  in  the  same  cause,  and,  on  this 
occasion,  risking  it  also  to  save  and  assist  the  other.  No  troops  could 
do  more  than  these  separate  armies.  Each  did  all  possible  for  it  to  do 
in  the  places  assigned  it. 

"  As  in  all  great  battles,  so  in  this,  it  becomes  our  fate  to  mourn  the 
loss  of  many  brave  and  faithful  officers  and  soldiers,  who  have  given  up 
their  lives  as  a  sacrifice  for  a  great  principle.  The  nation  mourns  for 
them." 


92  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

In  this  campaign  of  fifteen  days,  although  weakened  by 
detachments  sent  to  Buell  and  hampered  by  imperative  in 
structions  from  Halleck  to  hold  the  points  which  had  been 
garrisoned  under  his  orders,  Grant  had  fought  and  won  two 
battles,  against  superior  forces  of  the  enemy,  and  had  shown 
his  capacity,  if  permitted  to  concentrate  his  forces  and  leave 
conquered  territory  to  take  care  of  itself,  to  assume  the  offen 
sive  with  an  ample  force  to  sweep  every  vestige  of  rebel  power 
from  Mississippi.  This  is  the  only  period  in  his  military  ca 
reer  when  he  was  compelled  to  receive  attack  rather  than  give 
it,  and  nothing  could  have  been  more  galling  to  his  feelings. 
His  combinations  were  made  with  great  promptitude,  his  or 
ders  were  issued  with  clearness  and  precision,  and  although 
at  times  they  were  not  so  well  executed  as  they  should  have 
been,  they  resulted  in  gaining  substantial  and  valuable  suc 
cesses  for  the  national  cause.  The  resolution,  readiness  and 
perfect  comprehension  of  topographical  details,  including  the 
strategic  relation  of  important  points,  exhibited  by  Grant  in 
this  campaign,  show  him  to  have  been,  even  at  that  day,  a  Gen- 
oral  of  the  highest  order,  and  yet  Rosecrans  received  the  re 
ward  for  the  victories  gained,  by  being  sent  to  relieve  Buell 
of  the  command  of  the  largest  and  best  appointed  army  then 
in  the  West. 

A  full  and  detailed  history  of  the  operations  in  West  Ten 
nessee  and  Northern  Mississippi,  from  August  to  October, 
would  of  itself  make  a  volume  of  exciting  interest. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GRANT  ASSUMES  COMMAND  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  TENNESSEE — 
ORGANIZATIONS  AND  RE-EQUIPMENT  OF  TROOPS  PERFECTED — NECES 
SITY  OF  OPENING  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER — HALLECK  OPPOSES  THE 
SCHEMES  OF  M'CLERNAND — M'CLERNAND  ORDERED  TO  ILLINOIS  TO 
RAISE  A  NEW  ARMY — DISPOSITIONS  OF  GRANT'S  ARMY — DISSATIS 
FACTION  OF  THE  REBEL  GOVERNMENT — PEMBERTON  ASSIGNED  TO 
COMMAND  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSISSIPPI — GRANT  ON  THE 
MOVE  —  SKIRMISHING  —  PEMBERTON  ABANDONS  HIS  CAMP  NEAR 
ABBEVILLE  —  MOVEMENTS  IN  NORTHERN  MISSISSIPPI  —  M'CLER- 
NAND'S  EXPEDITION — ORDERS  DIRECTING  SHERMAN  TO  MOVE 

AGAINST    VICKSBURG COLONEL    MURPHY    SURRENDERS    HOLLY 

SPRINGS — ARMY  ENCAMPED  ON  THE  NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  TALLA- 

HATCHIE — HALF    RATIONS SYSTEM    OF    FORAGING  —  SPECIMEN 

CHRISTMAS  DINNER — GRANT'S  ORDER  DIVIDING  HIS  COMMAND  INTO 
CORPS — ESTABLISHES  HIS  HEAD-QUARTERS  AT  MEMPHIS — HIS  CONFI 
DENCE  IN  SHERMAN'S  GENERALSHIP — SHERMAN'S  OPERATIONS — DEM 
ONSTRATIONS  AGAINST  HAINES'  BLUFF  —  M'CLERNAND  CAPTURES 
ARKANSAS  POST — M'CLERNAND'S  INSUBORDINATION — GRANT'S  MAG 
NANIMITY — GRANT  AT  YOUNG'S  POINT — ADVISES  THE  GOVERNMENT 
TO  UNITE  THE  MILITARY  DEPARTMENTS  IN  THE  WEST. 

ON  the  25th  of  October,  1862,  in  compliance  with  orders 
from  Washington,  General  Grant  assumed  command  of  the 
Department  of  the  Tennessee,  which  he  immediately  divided 
into  four  districts,  allotting  one  division  of  troops  to  each. 
Sherman  was  assigned  to  the  District  of  Memphis  and  the 
first  division ;  Hurlbut  to  the  District  of  Jackson  and  the 
second  division ;  C.  S.  Hamilton  to  the  District  of  Corinth 
and  the  third  division ;  and  Davies  to  the  District  of  Columbus 
with  the  fourth  division. 

The  rebels  having  been  defeated  and  again  thrown  upon 
the  defensive  at  nearly  every  point  in  the  West,  Grant  now 
determined  to  take  the  offensive  as  soon  as  the  necessary 


94  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

authority  could  be  obtained.  He  made  every  effort  in  his 
power  to  prepare  his  command  for  an  active  campaign.  Or 
ganizations  were  perfected,  the  troops  were  re-clothed,  trans 
portation  was  diminished,  and  baggage  of  every  sort  was 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  entire  country,  and  specially  the  North-west,  had  by 
this  time  come  to  regard  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver, 
as  a  military  necessity,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
a  commercial  highway  to  the  sea,  but  as  the  means  of  severing 
the  Confederacy  and  affording  the  national  armies  a  base  of 
operations  against  the  vital  points  of  the  rebel  territory. 
Grant  had  long  since  recognized  this  necessity,  and  as  soon  as 
his  army  had  been  relieved  of  its  immediate  troubles,  he  set 
about  devising  the  means  of  carrying  forward  the  work  so 
effectively  begun.  But  while  he  was  working  in  the  field, 
with  the  legitimate  means  which  the  Government  had  placed 
in  his  hands — a  movement  had  been  put  on  foot  in  Washing 
ton,  by  one  of  his  ambitious  lieutenants,  having  the  same 
object  in  view.  General  McClernand  had  grown  tired  of 
serving  in  a  subordinate  capacity,  or  as  he  expressed  it  in  his 
own  figurative  language — "  furnishing  brains  for  Grant." 
He  therefore  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  and  went  to  Wash 
ington,  where  he  laid  before  the  President  a  plan  for  captur 
ing  Vicksburg,  and  operating  eastward  in  Mississippi.  Having 
formally  proposed  this  movement,  he  proceeded  upon  parlia 
mentary  precedent  and  requested  the  command  of  an  expedi 
tion  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  his  plan  into  effect.  The 
President  and  Secretary  of  War,  seem  to  have  approved  the 
plan  and  listened  to  the  request  for  an  independent  command 
with  decided  favor,  but  General  Halleck  opposed  it,  upon  the 
ground  that  it  would  necessarily  assume  proportions  of  such 
magnitude  as  to  pass  beyond  the  limits  of  a  secondary  opera 
tion,  and  urged  that  it  should  properly  be  given  to  Grant, 
within  whose  department  it  would  fall.  Both  sides  were 
stubborn ;  but  as  Halleck  at  that  time  was  believed  by  the 
country  to  possess  great  military  capacity,  his  opinion  pre 
vailed  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  induce  the  President  not  to  inter- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  95 

fere  with  Grant's  ariny.  But  he  ordered  McClernand  to 
Illinois  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  new  army,  with  the  prom 
ise  that  when  it  should  be  ready  to  take  the  field,  it  should 
be  charged  with  the  duty  of  opening  the  Mississippi  Kiver, 
and  be  commanded  by  McClernand  in  person. 

In  the  meantime,  Grant  had  collected  the  available  part  of 
his  command,  now  designated  as  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps, 
at  LaGrange  and  Grand  Junction,  important  points  on  the 
Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  near  the  northern  border 
of  Mississippi,  and  had  ordered  Sherman,  then  commanding 
at  Memphis,  to  march  with  his  movable  force  towards  Wyatt, 
on  the  Tallahatchie,  for  the  purpose  of  menacing  the  enemy's 
left  and  forming  a  junction  with  the  main  body  of  the  army 
under  McPherson  and  C.  S.  Hamilton.  Expeditions  com 
posed  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  had  already  scouted  the  country 
in  the  direction  of  Ripley,  Lamar,  and  Holly  Springs,  driving 
back  Van  Dorn,  and  giving  Grant  a  thorough  understanding 
of  the  enemy's  position  and  force.  The  rebel  government  at 
Richmond  appears  to  have  had  its  confidence  much  shaken  in 
the  leaders  of  the  rebel  cause  in  the  South-west.  Bragg  had 
been  driven  from  Kentucky  with  heavy  loss  ;  Beauregard  had 
thrown  up  his  command  in  disgust,  and  retired  to  the  interior 
to  restore  his  shattered  health ;  while  Lovell,  Price,  and  Van 
Dorn  had  been  defeated  at  luka  and  Corinth.  In  order  to 
repair  these  damages  as  far  as  possible  and  to  raise  the  hopes 
of  the  rebels,  Davis  assigned  Pemberton,  a  northern  renegade, 
to  the  chief  command  of  the  department  of  Mississippi. 

Grant  did  not  delay  his  movements  an  hour  longer  than 
necessary,  but  pushed  forward  with  great  celerity  and  vigor, 
reaching  Holly  Springs  on  the  29th  of  November,  and  the 
Tallahatchie — where  he  formed  a  junction  with  Sherman — on 
the  1st  of  December.  During  this  advance  from  LaGrange, 
Hovey  and  Washburn,  under  Grant's  instructions,  crossed 
the  Mississippi  at  Helena  and  moved  out  towards  Grenada 
for  the  purpose  of  menacing  the  rebel  communications  and 
rear.  Under  the  influence  of  these  combined  movements, 
Pemberton  abandoned  his  strongly  entrenched  camp  on  the 


9(3  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

south  eide  of  the  Tallahatchie  near  Abbeville,  and  fell  back 
rapidly,  closely  pressed  by  the  cavalry  under  Colonel  Dickey. 
Sharp  skirmishes  occurred  at  Water  Valley  and  Springdale, 
and  a  combat  of  some  magnitude  took  place  at  Coffeeville  be 
tween  the  rebel  rear  guard,  consisting  of  a  part  of  Lovell's 
corps,  and  Dickey's  mounted  force,  and  although  the  latter 
was  worsted,  it  was  only  after  a  well-contested  struggle  of 
several  hours,  during  which  Colonels  Dickey,  Hatch  and 
McCullough  (the  latter  of  whom  was  killed),  handled  their 
commands  with  skill  and  bravery.  The  rebel  force  composed 
of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery,  were  in  great  preponder 
ance  ;  and  as  the  national  infantry,  owing  to  bad  roads,  had 
not  been  able  to  keep  up  with  the  advance,  Dickey  was  com 
pelled  to  fall  back.  He  was  sent  immediately,  however,  to 
wards  Okolona  and  Tupelo,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  the 
Ohio  and  Mobile  Railroad. 

But  the  overland  movement  towards  Jackson,  had  already 
been  paralyzed  by  the  winter  rains  which  had  set  in  some 
days  before.  The  roads  in  Northern  Mississippi  naturally 
bad,  had  become  almost  impassable  for  an  army  accompanied 
by  wagons  and  artillery.  This  thickly  wooded  region,  cut 
up  by  streams  with  broad  alluvial  bottoms,  presents  even 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  an  extremely  difficult 
theatre  for  military  operations.  Grant  was  not  slow  in  reach 
ing  the  conviction  that  further  operations  in  that  direction 
were  out  of  the  question.  He  had  also  received  information 
that  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War,  were  about  to  pre 
cipitate  the  movement  of  McClernand's  expedition  against 
Yicksburg — in  spite  of  Halleck's  opposition — and  having  re 
ceived  permission  from  the  General-in-Chief,  on  the  8th  of 
December,  he  issued  the  following  orders  to  Sherman : 

"You  will  proceed  with  as  little  delay  as  possible  to  Memphis,  Tenn., 
taking  with  you  one  division  of  your  present  command.  On  your  ar 
rival  at  Memphis,  you  will  assume  command  of  all  the  troops  there  and 
that  portion  of  General  Curtis'  force  at  present  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  and  organize  them  into  brigades  and  divisions  in  your  own  way. 
As  soon  as  possible,  move  with  them  down  the  river,  to  the  vicinity  of 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  97 

Vicksburg,  and  with,  the  co-operation  of  the  gun-boat  fleet,  under  com 
mand  of  Flag-officer  Porter,  proceed  to  the  reduction  of  that  place,  in 
such  manner  as  circumstances  and  your  own  judgment  may  dictate. 

"  The  amount  of  rations,  forage,  land  transportation,  etc.,  neces 
sary  to  take  will  be  left  entirely  with  yourself.  The  Quartermaster 
at  St.  Louis,  will  be  instructed  to  send  you  transportation  for  thirty 
thousand  men.  Should  you  still  find  yourself  deficient,  your  quarter 
master  will  be  authorized  to  make  up  the  deficiency  from  such  trans 
ports  as  may  come  into  the  port  of  Memphis. 

"  On  arriving  at  Memphis,  put  yourself  in  communication  with  Ad 
miral  Porter,  and  arrange  with  him  for  his  co-operation. 

"  Inform  me  at  the  earliest  practicable  day  of  the  time  when  you  will 
embark,  and  such  plans  as  may  then  be  matured.  I  will  hold  the  forces 
here  in  readiness  to  co-operate  with  you  in  such  manner  as  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  may  make  necessary. 

"  Leave  the  District  of  Memphis  in  the  command  of  an  efficient  offi 
cer,  and  with  a  garrison  of  four  regiments  of  infantry,  the  siege-guns, 
and  whatever  cavalry  may  be  there." 

While  this  movement  was  in  progress,  and  the  force  under 
Grant  at  rest  on  account  of  the  heavy  rains,  the  rebel  cavalry 
under  Van  Dorn,  assumed  the  offensive,  and  marching  rapidly 
beyond  the  left  flank  of  Grant's  army,  struck  the  railroad  at 
Holly  Springs,  captured  the  place  and  destroyed  a  large 
quantity  of  stores.  This  movement  was  successful,  through  an 
unfortunate  array  of  disadvantageous  circumstances.  Grant's 
cavalry  as  already  mentioned,  had  been  detached  to  break  up 
another  railroad,  and  although  they  crossed  Van  Dorn's  line 
of  march,  just  as  he  was  passing  out  of  Pontotoc,  they  were 
too  much  fatigued  and  weakened  by  long  marches,  to  make 
rapid  pursuit.  A  brigade  of  infantry  which  was  sent  by 
Grant  to  re-enforce  the  garrison  at  Holly  Springs,  failed  to 
reach  it  in  time,  owing  to  the  precipitate  haste  with  which 
Colonel  Murphy,  the  ranking  officer,  surrendered  his  com 
mand,  amounting  to  nearly  two  thousand  men.  This  officer 
had  ample  warning  of  Yan  Dorn's  approach,  and  with  the 
force  at  hand,  could  have  easily  defended  the  place,  had  he 
shown  the  least  enterprise  or  soldierly  spirit.  Having  acted 
in  a  similar  manner  at  luka,  he  was  disgracefully  dismissed 
for  his  conduct  by  Grant,  a  few  days  thereafter.  The  rest 


98  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

of  Van  Dora's  campaign  was  a  failure,  for  he  was  held  at  bay 
by  all  of  the  little  garrisons  which  he  undertook  in  succession 
to  capture,  and  was  finally  compelled  to  make  a  wide  circuit 
and  return  towards  Grenada. 

This  interruption  of  communication  with  his  base  of  supplies, 
gave  Grant  an  opportunity  to  withdraw  from  his  advanced  po 
sition  in  North  Mississippi,  under  the  appearance  of  compul 
sion.  He  had  already  seen  that  the  Mississippi  River  would 
afford  a  line  of  operations  which  could  not  be  cut  by  raiders, 
and  which  led  directly  to  the  principal  objective  point  in  the 
theater  of  operations ;  and  that  he  ought,  therefore,  to  lose  no 
time  in  transferring  his  entire  army  by  that  route  to  the  imme 
diate  vicinity  of  Vicksburg.  It  was  vain  to  hope  that  the  rebels 
would  allow  that  place  to  fall  by  a  coup  de  main,  and  unless 
it  should  so  fall,  its  natural  and  artificial  strength  would  nec 
essarily  require  a  large  force  and  much  time  to  overcome  it. 
These  considerations,  and  as  has  already  been  stated,  the  ex 
treme  difficulty  of  continuing  the  movement  towards  Jackson, 
together  with  the  natural  anxiety  to  direct  in  person  the  main 
body  of  his  army,  influenced  him  to  remove  his  head-quarters 
to  Memphis,  and  soon  after  to  the  neighborhood  of  Vicksburg. 
The  army  was  slowly  withdrawn  to  the  north  side  of  the 
Tallahatchie,  where  it  was  encamped  and  thoroughly  taught 
the  lesson  of  making  war  support  war.  The  interruption  of 
railway  communication  with  the  rear,  deprived  the  army  of 
its  usual  supplies,  but  Grant  had  given  up  the  idea  of  treat 
ing  the  rebels  in  such  a  manner,  as  not  to  exasperate  them. 
He  therefore  issued  orders  putting  the  army  on  "half  rations*' 
and  requiring  it  to  live  off  the  country.  The  country  being 
neither  populous  nor  highly  cultivated  and  having  already 
been  marched  over  by  two  armies  and  various  detachments, 
was  regarded  as  unable  to  furnish  support  to  so  large  a  force 
for  any  length  of  time.  But  under  the  thorough  system 
adopted  by  McPherson,  Hamilton,  Logan,  Denver,  McArthur 
and  others,  aided  by  the  enterprising  men  of  their  commands, 
an  abundance  of  corn,  bacon,  poultry,  pork  and  beef  was  ob 
tained.  All  parts  of  the  upper  Tallahatchie  and  Cold  Water 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  99 

vallies  were  ransacked  and  foraged ;  the  mills  were  set  to 
work  and  kept  running  night  and  day  by  detachments  from 
various  brigades  and  divisions ;  and  although  they  were  neither 
numerous  nor  large  enough  to  keep  the  army  provided  with 
a  full  supply  of  meal,  the  men  were  not  long  in  filling  up  the 
deficiency.  In  the  lack  of  bread,  they  made  hominy.  This 
was  done  by  burning  hickory  wood  to  ashes,  leaching  them 
and  then  soaking  the  umcracked  corn  in  the  lye  till  its  skin 
could  be  easily  removed.  After  this  it  was  only  necessary  to 
boil  the  hominy  till  tender,  thus  making  a  healthy,  nutritious 
and  agreeable  article  of  food.  On  Christmas  day,  McPher- 
son's  pioneer  corps  sent  him  as  a  specimen  of  "  half  rations," 
an  admirable  dinner  for  himself  and  staff,  made  up  of  roast 
turkeys,  chickens,  meat  pies,  well  baked  wheaten  bread,  corn 
bread,  cakes,  hominy,  and  stewed  fruits. 

The  irregularities  consequent  upon  the  system  of  foraging, 
were  not  conducive  to  a  high  state  of  discipline,  but  as  the 
necessities  of  the  case  were  somewhat  pressing,  breaches  of 
regulation  could  not  be  severely  punished.  Logan,  with  his 
usual  ingenuity,  forbade  his  men  to  burn  fence  rails,  but  al 
lowed  them  to  use  as  much  dry,  twelve  foot  split  wood  as  they 
could  find  corded  up  outside  the  fields.  He  also  forbade  them 
to  forage,  except  under  direction  of  officers,  but  they  could  not 
entirely  resist  the  temptation.  Logan  was  vigilant  and  active, 
however,  and  caused  his  Provost  Marshal  to  arrest  all  men 
caught  bringing  in  hogs  or  cattle  on  individual  account,  and 
pen  them  up  together  till  discipline  had  been  vindicated.  As 
a  matter  of  course  the  accumulated  supplies  thus  obtained 
were  divided  by  the  proper  staff  officers,  equally  among  the 
troops.  These  instances  serve  to  indicate  the  general  rule 
followed  in  the  different  divisions,  and  to  show  how  Grant 
was  accustomed  to  leave  subordinate  details  to  subordinate 
commanders,  subject  only  to  general  orders  and  regulations 
of  the  army.  The  Commanding  General  of  an  army,  may  un 
dertake  to  regulate  the  details  of  duty  in  the  field  of  battle, 
and  in  camp,  for  every  subdivision  of  his  force,  or  he  may 
announce  general  principles  and  rules,  and  leave  the  details 


100  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GKANT. 

of  tactics  and  administration  to  his  Lieutenants.  The  former 
course  necessarily  converts  him  into  a  martinet,  annoys  and 
harasses  himself  and  staff  as  well  as  the  Generals  below  him, 
and  seldom  accomplishes  any  important  result ;  while  the  latter 
leaves  him  free  to  attend  to  the  more  serious  business  of 
his  office,  and  confines  the  corps,  division,  brigade  and  regi 
mental  commanders,  more  particularly  to  the  duties  which 
concern  them.  Grant  had  at  this  time  but  two  regular  offi 
cers  on  his  staff,  and  only  three  others  within  his  whole  com 
mand,  and  he  would  therefore  have  been  compelled  to  adopt 
the  latter  policy,  had  he  not  had  the  sagacity  to  see  it  was 
better  of  itself. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  1862,  Grant  issued  from  his 
head-quarters,  at  Holly  Springs,  the  following  order : 

"  By  direction  of  the  President,  the  troops  in  this  Department,  in 
cluding  those  from  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  operating  on  the 
Mississippi  River,  are  hereby  divided  into  four  army-corps  as  follows : 

"  1.  The  troops  composing  the  Ninth  Division,  Brigadier-General  G. 
W.  Morgan  commanding ;  the  Tenth  Division,  Brigadier-General  A.  J. 
Smith  commanding ;  and  all  other  troops  operating  on  the  Mississippi 
Kiver  below  Memphis,  not  included  in  the  Fifteenth  Army-Corps,  will 
constitute  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps,  under  the  command  of  Major- 
General  John  A.  McClernand. 

"2.  The  Fifth  Division,  Brigadier-General  Morgan  L.  Smith  com 
manding  ;  the  division  from  Helena,  Arkansas,  commanded  by  Brigadier- 
General  F.  Steele;  and  the  force  in  the  'District  of  Memphis/  will 
constitute  the  Fifteenth  Army-Corps,  and  be  commanded  by  Major- 
General  W.  T.  Sherman. 

"  3.  The  Sixth  Division,  Brigadier-General  J.  Me  Arthur  commanding; 
the  Seventh  Division,  Brigadier-General  I.  F.  Quimby  commanding;  the 
Eighth  Division,  Brigadier-General  L.  F.  Ross  commanding;  the  Second 
Brigade  of  cavalry,  Colonel  A.  L.  Lee  commanding ;  and  the  troops  in 
the  District  of  Columbus,  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Davies,  and 
those  in  the  district  of  Jackson,  commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Sul 
livan,  will  constitute  the  Sixteenth  Army-Corps,  and  be  commanded  by 
Major-General  S.  A.  Hurlbut. 

"  4.  The  First  Division,  Brigadier-General  J.  W.  Denver  commanding ; 
the  Third  Division,  Brigadier-General  John  A.  Logan  commanding ;  the 
Fourth  Division,  Brigadier-General  J.  G.  Lauman  commanding;  the 
First  Brigade  of  cavalry,  Colonel  B.  H.  Grierson  commanding;  and 


LITE  OF  ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  101 

the  forces  in  the  District  of  Corinth,  commanded  by  Brigadier-General 
G.  M.  Dodge,  will  constitute  the  Seventeenth  Army-Corps,  and  be 
commanded  by  Major-General  J.  B.  McPherson. 

"  District  commanders  will  send  consolidated  returns  of  their  forces 
to  these  head-quarters,  as  well  as  to  army-corps  head-quarters,  and  will, 
for  the  present,  receive  orders  from  Department  head-quarters." 

Soon  after  the  issuing  of  the  foregoing  order,  Grant  went 
in  person  to  Memphis,  where  he  established  his  head-quar 
ters,  and  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  prepare  for  the 
work  before  him.  Having  great  confidence  in  Sherman's 
courage  and  generalship,  he  left  him  untrammeled  in  the  first 
descent  upon  Vicksburg,  giving  only  general  instructions,  and 
leaving  him  to  carry  them  out  as  circumstances  should  de 
mand.  Sherman  landed  at  first,  near  Young's  Point,  sent  an 
expedition  to  destroy  the  Yicksburg  and  Shrevesport  Kail- 
road,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  rebel  supplies  from  that  quarter ; 
made  a  demonstration  upon  Haines'  Bluff,  on  the  Yazoo  about 
twelve  miles  above  its  mouth  ;  and  finally  on  the  29th  of  De 
cember,  landed  at  Chickasaw  Bayou,  a  few  miles  lower  down, 
and  moved  thence  across  the  almost  impassable  swamps 
against  the  rebel  lines  along  the  slopes  of  the  Walnut  hills. 
But  the  natural  and  artificial  defences,  together  with  the 
strong  rebel  force  behind  them,  were  too  much  for  Sherman 
to  overcome.  In  the  nature  of  things  his  movement  could 
not  be  made  a  surprise,  and  he  therefore  found  himself  com 
pelled  to  relinquish  the  expedition  without  further  effort,  or 
to  make  a  bold  and  vigorous  attack.  He  chose  the  latter 
course  and  failed,  but  from  no  fault  of  his  own  nor  of  his  men. 
The  troops  after  a  most  gallant  fight,  in  which  they  suffered 
severe  loss,  were  withdrawn  to  the  river  and  re-embarked  on 
the  1st  of  January. 

General  McClernand,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  promise 
of  the  Government,  had  been  hurried  forward  to  take  the  com 
mand,  under  the  advice  of  Sherman  moved  at  once  against 
the  Post  of  Arkansas  on  the  White  Eiver,  which  place,  he,  in 
connection  with  the  naval  squadron  under  Admiral  Porter, 
captured  on  the  llth  of  January.  The  fruits  of  this  victory 


102  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

were   6,000  prisoners,  17  guns,  12  colors,  6,000  stands  of 
small  arms,  and  a  large  amount  of  military  stores. 

During  this  time  Grant  was  still  at  Memphis,*  but  when 
McClernand  joined  the  expedition  and  its  first  failure  became 
known,  Grant  obtained  authority  from  Halleck  to  strengthen 
it  with  all  his  available  forces,  and  to  assume  command  in 
person.     His  first  movement  was  to  visit  the  forces  near  the 
mouth  of  White  River,  on  the  17th  of  January.     After  con 
ferring  with  Admiral  Porter,  and  Generals  McClernand  and 
Sherman,  he  ordered  the  expedition   to   rendezvous   in  the 
neighborhood  of  Vicksburg  and  then  returned  to  Memphis. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  at  that  place  he  received  a  letter  from 
McClernand,  protesting  in  an  insolent  and  insubordinate  man 
ner,  against  being  superseded  in  command,  on  the  score  that 
he  had  been  assigned  by  order  of  the  President  and  could  not 
be  removed  except  by  him.     This  was  not  McClernand's  first 
offense,  for  he  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of  grumbling,  pro 
testing,  and  acting  with  marked  disrespect  to  his  superiors. 
Grant  was  therefore  urged  by  his  staff  to  test  the  question  of 
authority  at  once  by  relieving  McClernand  from  all  command, 
and  sending  him  to  the  rear ;  but  with  a  degree  of  magna 
nimity  rarely  equalled,  he  sank  all  personal  feeling,  and  an 
swered  :  "  No !   I  cannot  afford  to  quarrel  with  a  man  whom 
I  have  to  command."     Acting  on  this  principle  he  treated 
McClernand  with  the  greatest  consideration,  giving  him  in 
nearly  all  cases  the  post  of  honor  and  more  than  his  share  of 
the  troops,  knowing  that  nothing  else  would  satisfy  his  inordi 
nate  ambition,  and  feeling  that  McPherson  and  Sherman  would 
regard  themselves  as  amply  rewarded  by  the  simple  privilege 

*  While  here  Grant  was  approached  by  an  acquaintance  from  St.  Louis, 
with  a  proposition  to  permit  the  sale  of  salt,  along  the  Mississippi  River, 
within  the  rebel  lines,  upon  condition  that  he  should  receive  half  the  profits — 
which  would  have  been  enormous.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  this  offer 
was  scorned,  and  the  person  making  it  treated  with  such  contempt  as  to 
overwhelm  him  with  shame.  The  news  of  this  attempt  and  its  signal  failure 
doubtless  spread  among  the  cormorants  who  were  fattening  upon  the  misfor 
tunes  of  the  country ;  for  nothing  like  its  repetition  was  ever  known  to  have 
occurred. 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  103 

of  obeying  orders  with  alacrity  and  zeal,  no  matter  what  they 
might  be,  nor  what  sacrifices  they  might  exact. 

Without  delay,  Grant  sent  the  engineer  officers  of  his  staff 
to  join  the  army  and  gather  information ;  ordered  McPherson 
with  his  corps,  already  withdrawn,  from  the  Tallahatchie  to 
Memphis,  to  proceed  to  Milliken's  Bend  as  fast  as  transporta 
tion  could  be  obtained ;  assigned  HurlbuJ  with  the  Sixteenth 
corps  to  the  command  of  West  Tennessee,  and  to  the  task  of 
keeping  the  river  open  as  far  down  as  Helena  ;  and  then  pro 
ceeded  in  person  to  Young's  Point,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
28th  of  January.  While  perfecting  these  arrangements,  being 
thoroughly  impressed  with  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the 
operations  in  which  he  was  about  to  embark,  he  advised  the 
Government  to  unite  the  various  military  departments  in  the 
West,  into  one  command,  in  order  that  all  its  resources  might 
be  directed  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  one  great  object. 
And  for  fear  that  this  advice  might  be  looked  upon  as  an 
effort  to  extend  his  own  power,  he  declined  in  advance  the 
supreme  control.  This  suggestion,  based  as  it  was,  upon 
strategic  considerations  of  the  highest  character,  is  enough 
to  show  that  Grant  had  already  attained  the  stature  of  an 
able  General  and  a  far-sighted,  judicious  statesman.  It  was 
not  acted  upon,  however,  until  Rosecrans'  defeat  at  Chick- 
amauga  rendered  a  consolidation  absolutely  necessary.  It 
will  be  seen  in  the  meantime  how  Grant  showed  his  worthi 
ness  to  have  the  supreme  command,  in  spite  of  his  exceeding 
modesty. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

SITE  OF  VICKSBURG — DIFFICULT  APPROACHES — NATURAL  DEFENSES — 
TROOPS  ARRIVE  AT  MILLIKEN'fi  BEND — FAILURE  OF  THE  CANAL — 
YAZOO  PASS  EXPEDITION — STEELED  BAYOU  EXPEDITION — CONCEN 
TRATION  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  MILLIKEN'S  BEND. 

IN  order  that  the  reader  may  understand  a  part  of  the  dif 
ficulties  which  the  army  of  the  Tennessee  (not  "  the  army  of 
the  Mississippi,"  as  McClernand  persisted  in  calling  it,)  had 
to  encounter,  he  should  bear  in  mind  that  Vicksburg  is  situ 
ated  on  a  bluff  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  low 
water  mark,  and  is  covered  in  front  and  flank  by  the  almost 
illimitable  bottom  lands  of  the  Mississippi.  These  lands  are 
intersected  in  all  directions  by  impassable  swamps  and  tortu 
ous,  fever-breeding  bayous,  filled  with  quagmires  and  quick 
sands,  treacherous  bottoms,  and  steep  banks,  almost  impassa 
ble  by  troops  in  summer,  and  entirely  so,  except  by  boats, 
during  the  rainy  season.  They  are  covered  by  a  dense  forest 
and  incumbered  by  a  luxuriant  growth  of  cane  and  vines. 
No  roads  have  been  constructed  through  them,  and  none  can 
be  except  at  an  excessive  cost.  The  swamps,  forests,  jungles, 
bayous  and  rivers  of  this  remarkable  region,  are  the  most 
perfect  defense  that  could  be  devised  for  important  points  sit 
uated  on  the  highlands  which  lie  beyond  them.  To  the  army 
operating  along  the  main  river,  they  proved  to  be  a  perfect 
barrier,  for  although  they  were  frequently  penetrated,  it  was 
always  with  such  great  labor  and  loss  of  time,  that  the  rebels, 
moving  by  rail  or  along  the  better  roads  of  the  highlands, 
were  enabled  to  meet  our  forces  in  superior  strength,  or  to 
block  their  way  by  impassable  fortifications. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  105 

As  fast  as  the  troops  reached  Milliken's  Bend  and  Young's 
Point,  they  were  disembarked,  and  the  transports  were  sent 
to  bring  forward  others.  In  the  meantime,  Grant  undertook 
to  devise  a  plan  which  should  give  him  either  the  immediate 
possession  of  Vicksburg  itself,  or  a  footing  on  the  neighbor 
ing  highlands  with  an  accessible  base  from  which  he  could 
operate  against  the  city  and  its  communications.  To  secure 
the  first  of  these  ends,  there  was  no  course  possible  but  to 
land  a  picked  force  by  surprise  from  steamers  and  flat-boats 
at  the  levee  of  the  city,  and  to  carry  its  works  by  a  vigorous 
attack.  But  this  was  clearly  too  hazardous  an  undertaking 
with  troops  unused  to  such  desperate  adventures.  It  was 
therefore  apparent  that  some  other  scheme  must  be  adopted. 
The  various  plans  which  suggested  themselves  may  be  classi 
fied  under  three  general  heads : 

First. — To  enlarge  the  canal,  commenced  the  year  before 
by  Butler,  across  the  peninsula  in  front  of  Vicksburg,  and  to 
send  through  it  a  strong  force  by  flat-boats  and  steamers  if 
practicable,  to  land  at  or  below  Warrenton,  whence  the  high 
lands  might  be  reached  and  the  defences  of  Vicksburg  carried. 
It  was  also  hoped  that  this  plan  would  result  in  turning  the 
river  through  the  canal  and  thus  in  a  measure  depriving 
Vicksburg  of  its  importance. 

Second. — The  probability  of  capturing  the  rebel  works  at 
Haines'  Bluff  by  a  combined  land  and  naval  attack  was 
thoughtfully  discussed,  as  was  also  the  possibility  of  turning 
this  place  by  operations  along  the  bayous  leading  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Yazoo  above  it. 

Third. — In  the  event  of  all  other  plans  failing,  General 
Grant  carefully  considered  the  feasibility  of  running  the 
batteries  with  the  fleet,  and  taking  his  entire  army  to  some 
point  on  the  Mississippi  below  Vicksburg,  by  whatever 
means  should  be  found  most  practicable.  By  this  plan  it  was 
hoped  to  secure  a  footing  at  Grand  Gulf  or  Rodney  and 
thence  to  move  at  once  into  the  interior  of  Mississippi,  or 
to  form  a  junction  with  Banks — then  occupying  the  Eed 
River  country — and  with  the  combined  armies  to  maneuver 


106  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

so  as  to  draw  out  and  destroy  the  rebel  army  under  Pem- 
berton. 

The  first  of  these  plans  proved  impracticable  on  account 
of  the  faulty  location  of  the  canal*  and  the  impossibility 
of  giving  it  a  sufficient  width  and  depth  to  admit  the  passage 
of  boats.  The  rapid  rise  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  conse 
quent  pressure  of  the  water  broke  the  levees  of  the  peninsula 
and  canal,  and  instead  of  cutting  a  navigable  channel  as  had 
been  hoped,  inundated  the  country  for  miles  around.  But 
even  had  this  canal  been  finished  as  intended,  it  is  not  proba 
ble  that  it  could  have  been  used  by  the  steamboats,  as  the 
rebels  had  established  batteries  of  heavy  guns,  within  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  of  its  outlet,  enfilading  it  throughout.  They 
had  rendered  it  untenable  for  the  dredge  boats  before  the 
levees  broke. 

Grant  had  probably  but  little  faith  in  it  from  the  first,  for 
the  very  day  he  arrived  in  front  of  Yicksburg,  he  sent  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Wilson  of  his  staff,  to  Helena,  for  the  purpose 
of  opening  and  exploring  Yazoo  Pass — a  tortuous  bayou 
leaving  the  Mississippi  a  few  miles  below  Helena  and  with 
the  Cold  Water  and  Tallahatchie,  after  nearly  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  of  twisting  and  turning,  connecting  with  the  Yazoo 
River.  A  few  days  afterwards  McPherson  was  ordered  to 
open  a  way  through  Lake  Providence  to  Bayou  Baxter,  and 
Bayou  Macon,  and  thence  through  the  Washita  into  the  Red 
River. 

Yazoo  Pass,  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  Mississippi  settle 
ments,  had  been  used  by  trading  boats  as  the  means  of  reach 
ing  the  country  along  the  Tallahatchie  and  Yazoo,  but  in  later 
years  it  was  obstructed  by  a  levee  across  its  entrance,  near  the 
bank  of  the  Mississippi.  The  supply  of  water  having  been 

*  General  Halleck  in  his  annual  report  of  operations,  states  that  this  canal 
failed  because  of  its  faulty  location,  there  being  an  eddy  at  the  lower  end,  but 
this  is  only  partially  correct.  The  water  failed  to  run  through  it  and  across 
the  peninsula  because  the  middle  of  the  peninsula,  in  accordance  with  the 
general  law  in  such  cases,  was  lower  than  either  side ;  as  a  consequence  the 
water  ran  in  at  both  ends,  and  after  the  guard  bank  was  broken,  spread  out 
over  the  swamps  and  lowest  land  first 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GKANT.  107 

cut  off,  its  bed  was  encroached  upon  by  a  rank  growth  of 
cotton-wood  and  willow,  so  that  when  it  came  to  be  considered 
as  a  possible  line  by  which  the  Yazoo  could  be  reached,  its 
mouth  had  become  almost  obliterated.  But  when  the  levee 
was  cut,  the  flood  of  water  which  poured  through  the  cre 
vasse  in  a  few  hours,  uprooted  the  young  trees,  swept  away 
the  fallen  timber,  and  left  an  open  channel  wide  enough  for 
steamboats  to  descend.  The  rebels,  however,  anticipating  the 
intentions  of  Grant,  before  the  gun-boats  and  troops  could  be 
got  ready,  filled  the  lower  part  of  the  pass,  felling  into  and 
across  it,  the  forest  trees  growing  upon  its  banks,  and  over 
lapping  their  limbs  above  it.  These  were,  however,  removed 
by  the  troops,  under  the  direction  of  General  Washburne  and 
Colonel  Wilson,  after  infinite  labor,  and  ceaseless  exposure  for 
nearly  two  weeks.  The  expedition  consisting  of  two  rams, 
two  powerful  iron-clads,  six  tin-clad  steamers,  and  one  divis 
ion  of  troops  under  General  Ross,  embarked  on  about  twenty 
small  steamboats,  left  the  river  on  the  24th  of  February,  and 
by  the  1st  of  March  they  had  mostly  succeeded  in  pushing 
their  way  through  the  wilderness  to  the  Coldwater.  Thence 
forward  it  was  supposed  to  be  plain  sailing,  but  the  naval 
force  was  commanded  by  an  officer  of  extreme  caution  and 
timidity,  who  managed  upon  one  pretext  or  another  to  delay 
the  expedition  so  that  it  did  not  reach  its  final  station,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Tallahatchie,  till  the  llth  of  March.  Pem- 
berton,  in  the  meantime,  had  sent  a  strong  force  from  Vicks- 
burg  under  Loring,  and  while  the  expedition  which  promised 
so  much  was  moving  with  such  deliberation,  this  force  took 
position  near  Greenwood,  and  threw  up  a  line  of  works  some 
five  hundred  yards  long,  extending  from  a  bend  in  the  Talla 
hatchie,  to  a  corresponding  bend  in  the  Yazoo,  and  covering 
the  mouth  of  the  YallobushjL.  They  also  sank  an  ocean 
steamer,  and  constructed  a  heavy  raft  in  the  Tallahatchie 
under  the  guns  of  their  fort.  When  the  iron-clads  made 
their  appearance,  they  were  greeted  by  a  well  directed  fire 
from  two  heavy  rifled  guns,  and  although  they  replied  in  due 
time  with  their  nine  and  eleven  inch  Dahlgrens,  aided  by  the 


108  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GKANT. 

fire  of  a  battery  erected  by  the  troops  on  the  narrow  spit  of 
land  not  overflowed,  they  did  not  succeed  in  dislodging  or 
silencing  the  enemy.  Nearly  the  entire  face  of  the  country 
being  under  water,  and  the  rebel  fort  being  covered  on  all 
sides  by  the  river,  and  impassable  sloughs,  it  was  out  of  the 
question  for  the  infantry  to  attempt  either  a  turning  move 
ment  or  an  assault.  After  spending  a  week  in  futile  efforts 
to  devise  means  of  getting  into  the  Yazoo,  the  expedition  was 
abandoned,  though  Grant  had  entertained  such  hope  of  its 
success  that  he  ordered  McPherson  to  withdraw  his  detach 
ments  from  the  bayous  leading  southward  from  Lake  Provi 
dence,  and  to  join  the  Yazoo  .Pass  expedition  with  his  entire 
corps.  It  was  also  hoped  that  an  expedition  sent  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Yazoo  through  Steele's  Bayou,  Soiling  Fork, 
and  Alligator  Bayou,  might  reach  the  Yazoo,  above  Haines' 
Bluff,  thus  taking  the  position  at  Fort  Pemberton  in  reverse. 
Admiral  Porter  undertook  to  carry  out  this  part  of  the  plan, 
and  succeeded  in  penetrating  over  two  hundred  miles  into  the 
net-work  of  bayous,  but  the  rebels,  gathering  in  his  front  and 
rear,  and  felling  trees  into  the  streams,  soon  obstructed  the 
navigation  so  much  that  it  was  equally  impossible  for  the 
gun-boats  to  advance  or  retire.  The  officers  and  men  were 
driven  below  by  the  annoying  fire  of  sharp-shooters  lying 
behind  the  trees  within  a  few  yards  of  the  boats,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  the  timely  arrival  of  General  Sherman,  with  a 
succoring  force,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Admiral  would 
have  lost  his  vessels  and  been  taken  prisoner  with  all  his 
officers  and  men. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Grant  was  foiled  at  every  step, 
and  in  every  plan.  The  interminable  forests,  tortuous  bayous, 
and  impassable  swamps  of  the  Yazoo  country,  were  too  much 
to  be  overcome  by  human  effort.  These  side  expeditions  were 
therefore  abandoned  and  the  troops  rapidly  concentrated  again 
in  front  of  Vicksburg. 

Though  no  substantial  advantage  had  been  gained,  and  the 
high  land  seemed  farther  off  than  ever,  these  preliminary 
operations  were  not  entirely  without  benefit  to  the  national 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  109 

cause.  The  army  was  kept  busy  and  therefore  healthy,  while 
the  rebels  were  greatly  annoyed  and  harassed.  Holding  not 
only  Vicksburg,  but  nearly  all  of  Western  Mississippi,  they 
were  compelled  to  move  constantly  from  one  place  to  another, 
scattering  their  strength  and  keeping  on  the  alert  at  all  points. 
But  the  greatest  advantage  was  that  the  Union  commander 
became  convinced  by  his  failures  that  there  was  but  one  way 
left  for  him  to  accomplish  the  object  in  view,  and,  "  at  that 
very  stage  when  an  intellect  of  less  determined  fibre  would 
have  been  resigning  itself  to  a  seemingly  implacable  fortune, 
Grant,  overleaping  fate  and  failure,  rose  to  the  height  of  that 
audacious  conception  on  which  at  length  he  vaulted  into 
Vicksburg."* 

*  Swinton's  "  Twelve  Decisive  Battles  of  the  War,"  p.  283. 


CHAPTEK    XIII. 

M'CLERNAND  AND  M'PHERSON  MARCH  TO  NEW  CARTHAGE — ADMIRAL 
PORTER  WITH  THE  IRON-CLADS  AND  TRANSPORTS  RUNS  BY  THE  BAT 
TERIES — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  SCENE — SUPPLIES  ARRIVING — NAVAL 
FIGHT  AT  GRAND  GULF — THE  GUN-BOATS  AND  TRANSPORTS  RUN  BAT 
TERIES  AT  GRAND  GULF — TROOPS  CROSS  THE  RIVER  AT  BRUINS- 
BURG — M'CLERNAND  ENCOUNTERS  THE  ENEMY — BATTLE  OF  PORT 

GIBSON — THE   REBELS  DEFEATED — EVACUATION   OF  GRAND  GULF 

GRANT    PUSHES    FORWARD — BASE    OF    SUPPLIES   AT   GRAND    GULF — 
HALT  FOR  SUPPLIES  AND  RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 

As  before  stated,  Grant  never  felt  entire  confidence  in  any 
of  the  plans  for  taking  Yicksburg  by  operations  north  of  it, 
and  therefore,  while  he  gave  all  of  them  the  best  trial  circum 
stances  would  allow,  he  held  firmly  to  the  idea  of  transferring 
his  army  to  the  southward.  When  the  canal  across  the  pen 
insula  failed,  his  fertile  genius  discovered  another  route  prom 
ising  better  results.  By  examining  the  map  of  the  country 
adjacent  to  Yicksburg  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  system  of 
bayous,  leading  by  a  tortuous  course  of  thirty  miles  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Milliken's  Bend — the  rendezvous  of  Grant's 
army — to  New  Carthage,  some  twenty  miles  below  Vicksburg. 
Engineers  were  sent  to  examine  this  route,  and  soon  re 
ported  that  it  could  be  prepared  for  steamboat  navigation,  by 
cutting  a  canal  from  Duckport  to  Walnut  Bayou  and  then 
clearing  the  bayous  of  the  trees  which  had  grown  up  in  their 
beds.  Grant  gave  the  necessary  orders  for  beginning  the 
work ;  but  without  waiting  for  its  completion  he  began  the 
movement  by  ordering  McClernand's  corps  to  march  along  the 
levees  bordering  the  bayous,  to  New  Carthage.  The  country 
being  inundated  nearly  everywhere,  except  along  the  banks 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  Ill 

of  the  bayous,  causeways  had  to  be  thrown  up,  in  one  in 
stance  over  a  mile  in  length,  before  the  troops  could  pass. 
Madison  Parish,  through  which  the  line  of  march  lay,  has 
been  brought  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  but  the  roads, 
owing  to  the  freshet,  were  at  that  time  as  bad  as  they  could 
possibly  be,  so  that  the  march  was  made  with  great  difficulty. 
When  the  advance  reached  Smith's  plantation,  New  Carthage, 
two  miles  beyond,  was  an  island  which  could  only  be  reached 
by  ferrying.  Boats  were  built  and  others  collected  from  the 
neighboring  plantations,  by  which  means  one  division  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  the  village,  but  the  rest  of  the  corps  was 
sent  twelve  miles  farther,  striking  the  river  at  Perkins'  plan 
tation.  McPherson's  corps  followed  soon  after. 

By  this  time,  owing  to  a  subsidence  of  the  flood  in  the  river, 
and  the  difficulty  of  cutting  off  the  trees  below  the  surface  of 
the  water  in  the  bayous,  it  was  necessary  to  abandon  this 
route  also  as  a  means  of  keeping  the  army  supplied ;  and 
should  the  river  continue  to  fall,  which  it  was  likely  to  do  at 
that  time  of  the  year,  it  would  be  utterly  out  of  the  question 
to  send  transports  through  the  bayous,  even  after  the  trees 
were  removed.  Grant  therefore  determined  to  overcome  all 
difficulties  on  the  score  of  supplies  and  transportation  by  send 
ing  the  transports  and  iron-clads,  under  the  fire  of  the  Vicks- 
burg  batteries,  to  join  the  army  below  that  place. 

Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  Thursday,  April  16th,  Ad 
miral  Porter,  with  six  iron-clads,  one  tug,  one  steam  ram, 
and  three  river  steamboats,  the  latter  manned  mostly  by  vol 
unteers  from  the  army,  ran  past  the  batteries  of  Yicksburg 
under  a  terrific  and  almost  incessant  fire. 

It  was  a  clear,  starlight  night,  but  the  rebels  set  fire  to 
houses  near  the  river  bank ;  and  one  of  the  transports  also 
took  fire  from  the  effects  of  a  bursting  shell,  so  that  the  whole 
scene  was  soon  under  a  glare  of  light,  almost  as  bright  as 
day.  The  fleet,  instead  of  going  by  under  a  full  head  of 
steam,  drifted  with  the  current,  the  gun-boats  answering 
shot  with  shot.  The  passage  required  nearly  two  hours,  dur 
ing  which  the  rebels  were  enabled  to  work  their  heavy  and 


112  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

well  posted  guns  with  telling  effect.  The  reverberation  of 
artillery,  the  howling  of  rifle  shot,  and  the  constant  bursting 
of  shells  made  the  scene  one  of  the  most  terrific  ever  wit 
nessed  in  warfare.  Grant  accompanied  the  fleet  with  his  own 
steamer  to  within  range  of  the  rebel  guns,  and  from  that  point 
anxiously  watched  the  entire  movement.  By  twelve  o'clock 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  it  had  proved  entirely 
successful.  The  gun-boats  were  uninjured;  one  transport 
was  abandoned  and  burned,  and  another  had  her  steam-chest 
pierced,  but  with  all,  it  was  now  certain,  that  by  using  the 
gun-boats,  tugs,  and  transports,  the '  entire  army  could  be 
ferried  across  the  river  at  any  point,  in  a  few  hours.  This 
end  being  secured  beyond  a  doubt,  Grant  felt  that  his  cam 
paign  could  not  fail.  Supplies  for  immediate  use  were  for 
warded  by  barges  and  flat-boats  which  also  ran  the  batteries 
under  the  cover  of  darkness ;  and  as  the  flood  gradually  sub 
sided,  and  the  country  emerged  from  the  water,  roads  were 
constructed  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  leading  from  Milli- 
ken's  Bend  and  Young's  Point,  to  Bowers'  *  Landing,  just 
above  Warrenton.  Under  the  efficient  direction  of  Colonels 
Bingham  and  Macfeeley,  Chief  Quartermaster  and  Commis 
sary,  every  want  of  the  army,  until  it  finally  cut  loose  from 
all  connection  with  the  river,  was  promptly  supplied.  The 
greatest  danger  had  already  been  overcome,  when  the  army 
and  transports  passed  below  Vicksburg.  To  Grant,  and 
Grant  alone,  is  due  all  the  credit  of  carrying  this  movement 
into  effect,  for  although  circumstances  may  have  in  a  man 
ner  driven  him  to  adopt  the  plan  of  which  this  was  the  first 
and  most  important  step,  he  perceived  from  the  day  of  his 
arrival  at  the  point  opposite  Vicksburg,  all  the  great  strategic 
advantages  to  be  obtained  by  operating  against  that  place 
from  the  southward,  and  therefore  bent  all  his  energies  to 
placing  his  army  in  such  position  as  would  enable  him  to  gain 
those  advantages.  The  persistency  with  which  he  tried  to 
find  some  other  route  than  the  one  finally  adopted,  shows  his 

*  Located  by,  and  called  after  T.  S.  Bowers,  A.  A.  G.,  an  efficient  and  valued 
officer  of  Grant's  staff. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  113 

anxiety  to  avoid  unnecessary  risk ;  but  when  all  other  routes 
had  failed,  there  was  nothing  left  to  a  man  of  his  temper  but 
to  go  forward  in  the  one  that  remained.  He  was  counseled 
to  wait  for  the  dry  season,  and  in  the  meantime  to  send  a  part 
of  his  army  to  help  Rosecrans  overwhelm  Bragg.  Sherman 
advised  him  to  return  at  once  to  Northern  Mississippi,  and 
renew  the  overland  campaign ;  McPherson  and  Steele  rather 
favored  the  same  plan.  So  long  as  the  question  was  open  for 
discussion,  Grant  was  almost  entirely  alone  in  the  opinion 
which  he  held.  He  was  not  insensible  to  the  fact  that  his 
plan  was  a  hazardous  one,  or  that  in  the  event  of  any  serious 
misadventure,  his  army  would  be  in  great  peril ;  but  he  also 
knew  that  he  could  not  afford  to  turn  back,  even  to  gain  a 
victory  elsewhere.  The  country  had  begun  to  clamor  for  his 
removal,  and  it  was  rumored  that  the  Government  had  de 
termined  to  replace  him  by  McClernand.  Under  such  cir- 
^pumstances  success  was  an  absolute  necessity,  and  as  at 
Shiloh,  he  had  "  not  yet  despaired  "  of  winning  it.  It  must 
not  be  understood  from  the  foregoing,  that  Grant  at  any  time 
called  a  council  of  war,  or  solicited  through  any  other  means 
the  advice  of  his  subordinates.  No  General  was  ever  more 
easily  accessible  than  he,  and  no  one  ever  listened  with  more 
attention  to  the  voluntary  suggestions  of  those  in  whom  he 
had  confidence  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  neither 
McPherson  nor  Sherman,  (not  even  McClernand,*)  "fur 
nished  him  with  brains,"  then  or  thereafter,  either  for  the 
conception  or  the  execution  of  his  plans.  It  is  but  fair,  how 
ever,  to  add  that  when  he  announced  his  determination,  and 
issued  the  final  orders  for  the  march,  every  officer  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest  gave  him  unqualified  support. 

The  movement  of  the  troops  to  firm  footing  on  the  banks 

*  Should  the  future  historian  ever  get  hold  of  the  records  kept  by  General 
McClernand,  he  should  not  waste  too  much  time  in  trying  to  reconcile  them 
with  this  remark,  but  should  bear  in  mind  it  has  been  said  of  that  sagacious 
Commander,  that  after  the  receipt  of  orders  to  execute  a  good  movement,  he 
not  unfrequently  wrote  to  his  Commanding  General  advising  the  same  move 
ment,  antedating  his  letter  and  carefully  forgetting  to  mention  the  instructions 
already  received. 
8 


114  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

of  the  Mississippi,  below  Vicksburg,  was  one  of  the  most 
difficult  ever  accomplished  by  an  army.  Canals  were  dug, 
bayous  were  cleared  out,  roads  were  thrown  up  and  cordu 
royed,  boats  were  built,  wagons  and  artillery  were  with  in 
credible  labor  drawn  through  the  swamps,  before  the  army 
could  be  assembled  within  striking  distance  of  the  enemy. 
During  this  march,  over  three  thousand  feet  of  bridging,  in 
cluding  four  bridges  of  over  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  were 
built,  and  that  without  the  use  of  a  single  military  bridge 
train.  Cotton-gins  and  flat-boats  afforded  all  the  materials 
required  by  the  hardy  and  self-reliant  soldiers  of  the  Union. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  admirable  than  the  spirit  with 
which  the  army  overcame  difficulties.  It  shared  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  qualities  which  mark  their  indomitable  Commander, 
as  the  most  peculiar  General  yet  known  to  history.  If  no 
other  General  would  have  undertaken  such  a  campaign,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  no  other  army,  except  one 
posed  of  Americans,  could  have  carried  it  successfully  to  its 
completion. 

By  the  29th  of  April,  just  one  month  from  the  commence 
ment  of  the  movement  from  Milliken's  Bend,  Grant  had  as 
sembled  McClernand's  and  McPherson's  corps,  a  force  of  about 
thirty  thousand  men,  at  New  Carthage  and  Perkins'  Landing, 
five  more  transports  *  had  run  past  the  Vicksburg  batteries, 
and  were  added  to  the  fleet  below,  and  all  were  in  readiness  to 
assist  in  ferrying  the  army  to  the  Mississippi  side,  which  had 
been  carefully  reconnoitered  from  Warrenton  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Big  Black,  without  finding  a  landing  place  connected  with 
the  high  land  by  a  passable  road.  There  was  nothing  left 
for  it  but  to  select  some  point  at  which  the  river  washed  the 
foot  of  the  bluffs.  The  first  point  of  this  kind,  was  Grand 
Gulf,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Black,  and  as  the  rebels 
had  fortified  and  garrisoned  the  place,  a  landing  could  not  be 
made  till  their  batteries  should  be  silenced.  In  order  to  mis 
lead  the  enemy  in  reference  to  his  real  designs,  Grant  ordered 
Sherman  to  make  a  demonstration  with  two  divisions  and  the 
*  Nine  river  steamers  ran  past  the  batteries,  only  two  of  which  were  lost. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  115 

gun-boats  still  above  Vicksburg,  on  the  rebel  position  at 
Haines'  Bluff,  and  after  attracting  all  the  attention  that  he 
could,  without  making  an  actual  attack,  to  withdraw  and  fol 
low  rapidly  upon  the  footsteps  of  the  main  force.  Sherman 
carried  out  his  instructions  so  efficiently  as  to  deceive  Pem- 
berton  completely. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  Porter  made  a  determined  attack 
with  his  iron-clads,  upon  the  rebel  batteries  at  Grand  Gulf, 
passing  and  repassing  the  town,  pouring  out  first  one  broad 
side  and  then  another ;  holding  his  armored  vessels,  including 
his  own  flag-ship,  for  six  hours  to  the  desperate  work,  but  all 
to  no  purpose.  The  rebel  guns  were  too  far  above  water  to 
be  dismounted,  and  too  well  manned  to  be  easily  silenced. 
They  returned  shot  for  shot,  with  great  regularity,  occasion 
ally  pausing  for  awhile  but  renewing  the  fire  whenever  favor 
able  range  could  be  got  upon  their  antagonists. 

Grant  was  again  an  anxious  spectator.  He  had  embarked 
a  part  of  McClernand's  corps,  and  held  them  ready  to  make  a 
landing  and  scale  the  heights  when  the  rebel  batteries  should 
be  silenced;  but  Porter's  gallant  fight  had  shown  that  the 
navy  was  incompetent  to  do  the  work  assigned  it,  though  it 
was  as  fit  for  action  after  the  six  hours'  work  as  before,  only 
one  iron-clad  having  been  seriously  damaged  and  thirty  or 
forty  men  killed  and  wounded.  It  was  plain  that  some  other 
point  must  be  selected.  Accordingly  as  soon  as  it  was  dark, 
the  transports,  under  cover  of  the  fleet  ran  past  the  batteries, 
as  at  Vicksburg,  under  a  heavy  fire,  while  the  troops  marched 
across,  after  dark,  to  Hard  Times  Landing,  two  miles  below 
Grand  Gulf.  Early  the  next  morning  they  were  re-embarked 
on  board  the  transports  and,  accompanied  by  the  gun-boats, 
started  down  the  river  again.  It  was  generally  supposed  that 
a  landing  could  not  be  effected  short  of  Rodney,  but  Grant 
was  fortunate  enough  to  learn  from  a  negro  that  the  highland 
could  be  reached  by  landing  at  Bruinsburg,  about  ten  miles 
below  Grand  Gulf.  The  troops  had  been  already  supplied 
with  rations,  and  stripped  of  all  impediments,  and  when  the 
advance  reached  Bruinsburg,  which  was  found  unoccupied, 


116  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

no  time  was  lost  in  pushing  out  a  party  as  far  as  the  hills,  by 
the  road  along  the  south  bank  of  Bayou  Pierre.  This  party 
was  soon  strengthened ;  and  by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon 
enough  of  McClernand's  corps  had  obtained  a  firm  footing  on 
dry  land  to  render  the  lodgment  entirely  safe.  Transports 
and  gun-boats  vied  with  each  other  in  ferrying  the  army  from 
Hard  Times  to  the  landing  place,  while  Grant  busied  himself 
in  pushing  them  to  the  front.  So  anxious  was  he  to  get  his 
army  united  on  the  Mississippi  side,  that  he  issued  orders  for 
bidding  even  the  Generals  to  take  their  horses  till  every  man 
who  could  carry  a  musket  was  across.  The  infantry  crossed 
first,  and  then  the  artillery,  but  wagons  of  all  kinds  were  left 
behind ;  Grant  even  left  his  own  horses  and  personal  baggage 
and  required  his  staff  to  do  the  same.  In  order  to  go  to  the 
front  he  was  compelled  to  borrow  a  horse  from  a  small  de 
tachment  of  cavalry  which  he  had  allowed  to  cross  for  the 
purpose  of  acting  as  scouts  and  couriers.  The  ferrying  was 
continued  throughout  the  night  and  by  daylight  on  the  1st 
of  May,  all  of  McClernand's  and  a  part  of  McPherson's  corps 
had  crossed.  McClernand,  who  had  pushed  out  his  leading 
division  five  or  six  miles  during  the  afternoon  and  night,  re 
newed  his  advance  at  early  dawn,  and  by  sunrise  had  begun 
to  feel  the  enemy.  The  sound  of  artillery  soon  afterward  bore 
to  Grant's  ears  the  assurance  that  Pemberton  had  not  been  in 
active.  Ordering  McPherson  to  hurry  the  remainder  of  his 
troops  to  the  front  as  fast  as  they  arrived,  he  mounted  his 
borrowed  horse  and,  accompanied  by  two  staff  officers,  rode 
rapidly  to  the  field  of  battle,  about  eight  miles  from  the  river, 
and  assumed  direct  control  of  the  troops.  McClernand  had 
found  the  enemy  composed  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  posted 
upon  a  succession  of  heavily  wooded  ridges  covering  the  two 
roads  leading  into  Port  Gibson,  and  although  not  in  very  great 
force,  able  to  make  a  successful  and  stubborn  resistance,  owing 
to  the  natural  strength  of  the  position.  The  divisions  of 
Hovey,  Carr  and  A.  J.  Smith,  were  thrown  against  the 
enemy  along  the  right  hand  road  while  Osterhaus'  division 
pressed  him  back  on  the  left.  The  rebel  General  Bowen  felt 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  117 

that  lie  must  hold  Grant  back  with  all  his  might,  and  defeat 
him  if  he  wished  to  save  Grand  Gulf,  and  bar  the  road  to 
Yicksburg  long  enough  to  make  its  defense  sure.  He  there 
fore  disputed  every  foot  of  the  field,  with  stubborn  and  deter 
mined  bravery.  But  Grant  pushed  forward  his  troops  with 
the  greatest  celerity,  driving  the  enemy  steadily  but  slowly  all 
the  while,  till  the  arrival  of  Logan  with  McPherson's  leading 
division  enabled  him  to  re-enforce  both  Osterhaus  and  the 
troops  under  Hovey,  Carr  and  Smith,  and  by  a  vigorous  at 
tack  all  along  the  line  and  on  both  flanks,  to  drive  the  rebels 
broken  and  defeated  from  their  last  position,  with  the  loss  of 
150  killed,  840  wounded,  and  600  prisoners,  besides  3  guns 
and  4  flags.  Night  put  an  end  to  the  pursuit,  but  the  rebels 
continued  their  retreat  through  Port  Gibson,  and  beyond  the 
Bayou  Pierre.  They  burned  the  bridges  across  the  forks  of 
the  bayou,  and  fell  back  the  next  day  to  the  north  side  of  the 
Big  Black  River,  having  blown  up  the  magazines,  spiked  the 
guns  and  abandoned  Grand  Gulf,  during  the  night  of  May  1st. 

Grant  pushed  forward,  and  repaired  the  bridges,  and  while 
the  army  continued  the  pursuit  to  Hankinson's  Ferry,  he  rode 
to  Grand  Gulf  reaching  there  at  nightfall  on  the  2d.  Ad 
miral  Porter  had  already  taken  possession.  Grant  directed 
the  proper  staff  departments  to  transfer  the  base  of  supplies 
at  once  to  Grand  Gulf,  sent  orders  to  Sherman  to  cross  the 
river  there,  and  wrote  despatches  to  Banks  informing  him  of  his 
success,  and  telling  him  that  he  should  not  turn  towards  the 
south,  nor  detach  any  part  of  his  troops  for  operations  in  that 
direction.  At  midnight  he  mounted  and  rode  rapidly  back  to 
the  army,  which  he  joined  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  at  sun 
rise.  The  night  before  he  had  slept  upon  the  ground,  with 
out  a  tent,  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  with  his  saddle  for  a 
pillow  and  without  even  an  overcoat  for  covering.  Now, 
throwing  himself  upon  a  hard  wooden  bench  he  took  two 
hours'  sound  sleep,  this  time  without  even  the  luxury  of  a 
saddle. 

The  rebel  writers  have  tried  to  palliate  the  soreness  of  their 
defeat  at  Port  Gibson,  by  saying  that  they  were  outnumbered 


118  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

two  to  one,  but  they  forget  that  it  was  Grant's  good  general 
ship  which  enabled  him,  by  the  concentration  of  superior 
forces  on  the  field  of  action,  to  make  his  first  step  sure.  No 
General  ever  displayed  greater  activity  or  clearness  of  judg 
ment  than  Grant  did  during  the  preliminary  movements  of 
this  campaign  ;  but  the  rebels  having  fallen  back  towards 
Vicksburg,  he  now  suspended  his  advance  for  the  purpose  of 
waiting  for  Sherman  to  join  him.  The  delay  was  improved  by 
bringing  forward  supplies,  making  reconnoisances  and  gather 
ing  information  for  future  use. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


JOHNSTON  PLACED  IX  COMMAND  OF  REBEL  MILITARY  OPERATIONS  IN 
THE  SOUTH-WEST — PEMBERTON'S  GENERALSHIP — GRIERSON'S  RAID 
— SHERMAN  JOINS  THE  ARMY — GRANT'S  PLAN — BATTLE  OF  RAY 
MOND — CAPTURE  OF  JACKS\)N — BATTLE  OF  CHAMPION'S  HILL — CAP 
TURE  OF  STORES  AND  MUNITIONS  AT  EDWARDS*  DEPOT — ASSAULT 
AND  CAPTURE  OF  THE  WORKS  AT  BIG  BLACK  RIVER  BRIDGE — GAL 
LANT  CONDUCT  OF  THE  TROOPS — PEMBERTON  HASTENS  TO  VICKS- 
BURG — THE  UNION  ARMY  CROSSES  THE  BIG  BLACK — ARRIVAL  BE 
FORE  VICKSBURG — RESULTS  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN. 

AFTEK  Beauregard's  retirement,  the  Richmond  authorities 
put  the  control  of  all  their  military  operations  in  the  South 
west,  into  the  hands  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  made  his 
head-quarters  with  Bragg — receiving  daily  reports  from  all 
parts  of  his  extensive  command.  Pemberton  gave  him  the 
impression  that  Grant  would  relinquish  the  campaign  against 
Vicksburg,  but,  as  has  been  seen,  he  sadly  misconceived  the 
temper  of  his  adversary. 

During  the  progress  of  the  battle  near  Port  Gibson,  John 
ston  ordered  re-enforcements  from  Tennessee,  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  and  directed  Pemberton  to  gather  all  his  forces 
and  "drive  Grant  into  the  rwer ;"  but  that  officer  was  not  only 
incapable  of  doing  this,  but  of  understanding  the  principles 
of  warfare  upon  which  the  order  was  based.  Instead  of 
abandoning  Vicksburg  at  once  and  concentrating  his  entire 
force  in  the  direction  of  Jackson — a  railroad  center — he  col 
lected  his  troops  within  the  fortifications  which  had  already 
shown  their  inutility,  and  waited  for  the  blow  which  was 
menacing  him. 


120  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

In  pursuance  of  Grant's  instructions,  Hurlbut  sent  out 
from  West  Tennessee,  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  a  detach 
ment  of  cavalry  under  Colonel  Grierson,  with  instructions  to 
ride  through  Mississippi  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  rebel 
property,  breaking  the  railroads,  and  scattering  rebel  con 
scripts,  and  finally  joining  either  Grant,  or  Banks,  as  circum 
stances  should  determine.  This  raid  proved  to  be  eminently 
successful,  demonstrating  clearly  to  the  country  that  the  Con 
federacy  was  but  a  shell — empty  within  and  only  strong  on 
the  outside — a  piece  of  information  upon  which  Grant  was  by 
no  means  slow  to  act. 

Sherman,  with  the  Fifteenth  corps,  joined  the  army  on  the 
8th  of  May ;  wagons  and  supplies  had  been  brought  forward 
in  the  meanwhile,  and  definite  information  obtained,  touching 
the  enemy's  movements.  Grant's  force  was  now  not  far  from 
forty-five  thousand  men,  and  everything  in  excellent  condi 
tion,  when  the  word  for  the  advance  was  given.  His  plan 
was  to  sweep  around  to  the  eastward  of  the  Big  Black,  with 
Sherman's  and  McClernand's  corps,  marching  by  the  roads 
towards  Edwards'  Depot  and  Bolton,  on  the  Yicksburg  and 
Jackson  Railroad,  while  McPherson  was  to  be  thrown  well 
out  towards  the  interior — if  necessary  as  far  as  Jackson — by 
the  way  of  Raymond.  Rations  of  sugar,  coffee  and  salt,  to 
gether  with  "  three  days  of  hard  bread  to  last  five  "  were  issued 
to  the  troops ;  everything  else  was  to  be  gathered  from  the 
country.  In  pursuance  of  these  instructions,  the  different  corps 
pushed  rapidly  forward,  encountering  but  little  or  no  resistance. 
On  the  12th  of  May,  McPherson's  leading  division,  under 
command  of  the  gallant  and  irrepressible  Logan,  encountered 
the  enemy  in  strong  force  under  Gregg  and  Walker,  recently 
arrived  from  Port  Gibson  and  Georgia,  posted  on  the  north 
side  of  Fondreau's  Creek,  near  Raymond,  and  after  a  brilliant 
combat  of  several  hours,  in  which  a  part  of  Cr6cker's  divis 
ion  became  finally  engaged,  drove  them  from  the  field,  with 
the  loss  of  120  killed,  and  750  wounded  and  prisoners.  Our 
losses  were  69  killed,  (from  Colonel  Richards'  Twentieth 
Illinois  infantry,  and  Major  Kaga's  Twentieth  Ohio,)  341 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  121 

wounded,  and  32  missing.  The  rebel  force  was  about  G,000 
strong,  and  fought  well.  McPherson  and  Logan  behaved 
with  great  gallantry,  and  displayed  excellent  generalship  in 
this  affair,  while  Stevenson,  Dennis,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stur- 
gis  of  the  Eighth  Illinois,  and  all  the  officers  and  men  showed 
the  highest  soldierly  qualities. 

This  battle,  in  which  a  second  detachment  of  the  enemy 
had  been  routed,  gave  Grant  great  confidence  in  the  following 
steps  of  the  campaign.  Instead  of  pushing  McClernand  and 
Sherman,  who  had  both  crossed  Fourteen  Mile  Creek  and  got 
within  seven  miles  of  Edwards'  Depot,  directly  upon  the  lat 
ter  place,  he  determined  to  make  sure  of  Jackson  first  and 
to  scatter  the  force  now  known  to  be  assembling  there  under 
Johnston  in  person.  To  this  end  McPherson  was  pushed  to 
wards  that  place  by  the  Clinton  road;  Sherman  was  ordered 
to  move  rapidly  by  the  way  of  Raymond  and  Mississippi 
Springs,  to  the  same  place;  while  McClernand  was  directed 
to  withdraw  by  his  right  flank  from  his  menacing  position  in 
front  of  Edwards'  Depot,  and  to  march  to  Raymond  whence 
he  could  support  either  McPherson  or  Sherman.  These 
movements  were  made  with  precision  and  celerity,  and  on  the 
14th,  Grant  entered  Jackson  in  triumph,  after  a  sharp  fight 
of  several  hours  between  McPherson's  leading  division  under 
Crocker,  and  a  force  of  rejbels  under  Johnston.  The  latter, 
finding  that  the  city  could  not  be  held,  had  posted  guns  in 
front  of  Sherman  and  thrown  this  force  out  upon  the  Clinton 
road  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  McPherson's  advance  long 
enough  to  permit  the  evacuation  of  the.  city  by  the  Canton 
road.  Large  quantities  of  military  stores,  including  six  or 
eight  guns  and  an  abundant  supply  of  sugar,  fell  into  our 
hands.  Grant  was  one  of  the  first  persons  to  perceive  the 
ruse  which  his  wily  antagonist  had  adopted,  and  at  once  gal 
loped  into  the  town  closely  followed  by  the  troops.  Charging 
Sherman  with  the  demolition  of  the  bridge  across  the  Pearl 
River,  and  the  destruction  of  all  the  rebel  military  property 
not  needed  by  the  army — not  forgetting  the  railroads  north, 
south,  east  and  west,  Grant  apprised  McClernand  that  evening 


122  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

of  his  success,  and  directed  him  to  move  Carr,  Osterhaus  and 
Hovey,  the  next  morning  towards  Bolton  Station,  and  A.  J. 
Smith  towards  Edwards'  Depot.  General  F.  P.  Blair  com 
manding  a  division  of  Sherman's  troops,  not  yet  arrived,  and 
Ransom  with  a  brigade  of  McPherson's  corps,  were  also  di 
rected  to  move  upon  the  same  point.  Soon  after  arriving  at 
Jackson,  Grant  learned  that  Johnston  had  sent  the  night  be 
fore,  three  different  couriers  with  positive  orders  for  Pember- 
ton,  requiring  him  to  march  out  and  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the 
national  army,  Without  giving  McPherson  an  hour's  rest, 
Grant  directed  him  to  countermarch  his  corps  and  push  with 
all  possible  haste  towards  Bolton,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting 
with  McClernand's  corps,  and  anticipating  the  rebel  attack. 
Sherman  was  left  to  finish  the  work  which  he  had  so  thoroughly 
begun,  and  then  to  follow  the  main  body  of  the  army  by  the 
Clinton  road.  Grant  in  person  left  Jackson  on  the  morning 
of  the  15th,  and  encamped  that  night  at  Clinton.  Before 
daylight  on  the  16th,  he  was  informed  by  two  citizens  just 
from  Vicksburg  that  they  had  passed  Pemberton's  entire 
army,  estimated  at  twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  men,  the 
evening  before,  at  Baker's  Creek,  and  still  marching  towards 
Bolton.  Their  information  was  so  explicit  and  circumstantial 
that  Grant  despatched  a  staff  officer  at  once  to  McPherson 
and  McClernand  with  orders  to  prepare  for  a  general  battle, 
but  not  to  bring  on  the  action  till  all  the  troops  were  thoroughly 
in  hand.  A  short  time  afterwards  he  rode  rapidly  to  the 
front  himself,  arriving  on  the  field  about  ten  o'clock.  He 
found  Hovey's  division  with  artillery,  posted  and  drawn  out 
in  line  of  battle  at  Champion's  plantation,  on  the  Edwards' 
Depot  road,  two  miles  east  of  Baker's.  Creek;  McPherson's 
corps  was  in  readiness  to  support  Hovey;  McClernand,  with 
Carr  and  Osterhaus,  occupied  a  position  on  the  same  line,  on 
the  middle  road  from  Raymond  to  Edwards'  Depot,  but  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  left  of  Hovey ;  while  Blair  and  A.  J. 
Smith  were  still  farther  to  the  left,  converging  on  the  same 
point.  Sherman  at  the  same  time  was  well  on  the  way  from 
Jackson.  Grant  threw  forward  Logan's  division  to  the  right 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  123 

of  Hovey,  and  gave  the  latter  orders  to  advance.  The  skir 
mishing  had  already  become  pretty  hot  and  by  twelve  o'clock 
the  troops  of  both  armies  were  in  full  battle  array.  A  pre 
lude  of  sharp  skirmishing  with  an  occasional  shot  from  the 
cannon  of  either  side  introduced  the  terrible  shock  of  arms 
which  followed.  The  rebels  held  the  advantage  in  position, 
their  lines  being  formed  along  the  heavily  wooded  ridges  lying 
in  the  bend  of  Baker's  Creek.  Their  center  on  the  main  road 
held  Champion's  Hill,  the  key  point  of  the  field.  Upon  this 
point  Hovey  impelled  his  enthusiastic  men  with  terrible  vigor 
and  by  two  o'clock  had  carried  it  in  the  handsomest  manner, 
capturing  four  guns  and  several  hundred  prisoners.  The 
enemy  did  all  in  his  power  to  withstand  the  onset,  but  were 
steadily  pressed  back.  Logan  advanced  almost  simultane 
ously  with  Hovey,  pushing  through  an  open  field,  along  the 
northern  slopes  of  Champion's  Hill,  and  also  driving  back  the 
enemy  in  his  front.  In  the  meantime  the  enemy  had  rallied 
in  Hovey 's  front  and  being  strongly  re-enforced  threw  them 
selves  upon  him  with  great  determination,  in  their  turn  press 
ing  him  back  and  threatening  to  wrest  from  him  the  heights 
which  he  had  gained  at  such  a  fearful  cost.  At  this  critical 
juncture  McPherson,  who  had  fortunately  brought  forward 
Crocker's  division  and  posted  it  behind  the  interval  between 
Hovey  and  Logan,  under  Grant's  direction,  ordered  it  at  once 
to  the  support  of  Hovey  whose  hard  pressed  regiments  were 
now  greatly  fatigued  and  some  of  them  entirely  out  of  am 
munition.  Boomer's  brigade,  on  the  left,  was  marched  rapidly 
by  the  flank  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  reached  there  just  in  time 
to  catch  the  full  force  of  the  rebel  onset.  For  fifteen  minutes 
the  rattle  of  musketry  was  incessant.  At  the  same  time  sev 
eral  batteries  had  been  collected  near  Grant's  head-quarters, 
and  converging  their  fire  upon  the  woods  from  which  the 
rebels  were  emerging,  Boomer  was  enabled  to  drive  them 
back  with  great  loss.  McPherson  and  Logan  were  mean 
while  swinging  the  right  of  the  line  well  forward,  steadily 
driving  the  rebels,  and  finally  overlapping  their  left  and  strik 
ing  them  in  the  flank  and  rear,  capturing  two  batteries  and 


124  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

nearly  a  thousand  prisoners.  This  movement  in  connection 
with  Boomer's  splendid  assault,  resulted  in  driving  the  enemy 
from  the  field,  broken  and  routed.  By  four  o'clock  they  were 
fleeing  in  confusion  rapidly  towards  Vicksburg.  McClernand, 
although  frequently  ordered,  did  not  succeed  in  getting  either 
Carr  o°  Osterhaus  heavily  engaged.  Smith  and  Blair  were 
too  far  to  the  left  to  produce  any  decided  effect,  although  their 
artillery  and  skirmishers  were  engaged  with  Loring's  division 
for  a  short  time.  Kansom  marched  across  the  country  to 
wards  the  heaviest  firing  and  joined  McPherson  after  the 
action  had  ceased. 

The  victory  could  scarcely  have  been  more  complete,  and  as 
has  been  seen,  it  was  gained  almost  entirely  by  three  divisions, 
Hovey's,  Logan's  and  Crocker's,  not  exceeding  fifteen  thou 
sand  men  in  all,  while  the  rebels  could  not  have  been  fewer 
than  twenty-five  thousand.  The  Bebel  historians  excuse  this 
defeat  also  on  the  ground  that  they  were  vastly  outnumbered  ; 
and  it  is  true  that  Grant  had  hi  the  short  space  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  transformed  the  rear  of  his  army  into  the  full  front 
of  it,  concentrating  some  thirty-five  thousand  men  in  all  within 
supporting  distance  of  each  other,  but  it  is  also  true,  that  he 
won  the  battle  with  less  than  one-half  of  this  force.  His 
combinations  were  admirable;  nothing  in  warfare  was  ever 
more  praiseworthy,  and  had  McClernand  forced  the  fighting 
in  his  immediate  front,  as  did  Hovey,  Boomer  and  Logan,  un 
der  Grant's  immediate  supervision,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
any  part  of  the  rebel  forces  could  have  escaped.  As  it  was 
they  lost  about  500  killed,  including  General  Tilghman,  2,200 
wounded,  and  2,000  prisoners,  besides  18  guns  and  a  large 
number  of  small  arms.  Grant's  loss  (mostly  in  Hovey's  di 
vision  and  Boomer's  brigade,)  was  426  killed,  1,842  wounded, 
and  189  missing,  total,  2,457. 

The  pursuit  was  continued  to  Edward's  Depot  that  night, 
the  leading  troops  capturing  at  that  place  an  ammunition  train 
of  ten  or  twelve  railroad  cars.  At  dawn  of  the  17th,  the  pur 
suit  was  renewed  in  the  direction  of  Yicksburg ;  and  by  seven 
o'clock  McClernand's  advance,  under  Osterhaus  and  Carr, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  125 

came  up  with  the  rebel  rear  guard  posted  in  strong  entrench 
ments  nearly  a  mile  in  extent,  covering  the  railroad  and  mili 
tary  bridges  across  the  Big  Black.  These  divisions  were 
developed  without  delay  under  a  strong  fire  from  the  rebel 
artillery,  during  which  Osterhaus  was  wounded.  Carr  held 
the  right,  his  right  brigade  commanded  by  General  Lawler, 
resting  upon  the  Big  Black.  After  some  desultory  artillery 
firing  and  skirmishing,  Lawler  found  a  weak  place  on  the 
extreme  left  of  the  rebel  works,  and  lost  no  time  in  leading 
his  brigade,  composed  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin  men,  to  the 
assault.  Advancing  across  an  open  field  several  hundred 
yards  in  width,  they  received  a  deadly  fire,  but  without  fal 
tering  they  rushed  gallantly  through  the  ditch  and  over  the 
rebel  breastworks,  sweeping  away  all  opposition,  and  captur 
ing  eighteen  guns  and  nearly  two  thousand  prisoners.  In 
this  gallant  affair,  Colonel  Kinsman  of  the  Twenty-third 
Iowa  was  killed,  and  Colonel  (now  Governor)  Merrill  of  the 
Twenty-first  was  wounded, — both,  while  cheering  forward 
their  men  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner. 

This  put  an  end  to  the  campaign  in  the  open  field,  Pem- 
berton  immediately  abandoned  his  camp  on  the  Big  Black,  and 
retreated  in  disorder  to  Vicksburg.  Johnslon  had  gone  in 
the  direction  of  Canton,  but  did  not  attempt  a  diversion  in 
Pemberton's  favor,  though  he  might  have  fallen  upon  Sher 
man's  flank  and  harrassed  him  considerably. 

During  the  night  four  floating  bridges  were  built  across  the 
Big  Black  by  the  troops  under  the  direction  of  the  engineer 
officers.  McClernand  built  one  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  rail 
road  bridge,  near  the  railroad  crossing  ;  McPherson  built  two 
further  up  the  river,  one  of  timber  obtained  by  pulling  down 
cotton-gin  houses,  the  other  of  cotton  bales  rafted  together ; 
while  Sherman  made  his  of  the  india  rubber  pontoons. 
After  night-fall,  Grant  rode  up  the  river  to  see  Sherman, 
whom  he  found  at  Bridgeport,  engaged  in  crossing  his  com 
mand.  The  two  commanders  crossed  the  bridge,  and  seated 
themselves  on  a  fallen  tree,  in  the  light  of  a  pile  of  burning 
fence  rails,  and  had  a  friendly  conference,  while  the  eager  and 


126  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

swift  marching  men  of  the  Fifteenth  corps  filed  by  them  and 
disappeared  in  the  darkness.  Grant  recounted  the  results  of 
the  campaign  and  detailed  his  plans  for  the  next  day,  after 
which  he  returned  through  the  forest  to  his  own  head 
quarters. 

On  the  next  day,  the  18th  of  May,  the  army  marched  by 
the  various  roads  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  and  after  slight 
skirmishing  drove  the  rebel  pickets  inside  of  their  works. 
Communication  by  signal. was  opened  at  once  with  the  gun 
boats  and  transports  lying  above  Vicksburg,  and  measures 
were  taken  to  establish  communications  with  the  Yazoo  River. 
The  rebels  had  already  evacuated  Haines'  Bluff,  and  the  navy 
took  possession  of  the  place,  and  proceeded  to  burn  the  gun- 
carriages,  camps,  and  stores,  and  to  blow  up  the  magazines. 
This,  however,  was  done  in  mistaken  zeal,  and  inflicted  an 
actual  damage  upon  us  rather  than  upon  the  enemy. 

We  may  now  pause  to  consider  what  had  been  accom 
plished.  Within  these  eighteen  days,  Grant  had  won  five  bat 
tles,  taken  40  field-guns,  many  colors  and  small  arms,  and 
nearly  5,000  prisoners ;  killed  and  wounded  5,200  of  the 
enemy ;  separated  their  armies,  in  the  aggregate,  nearly 
60,000,  strong ;  captured  one  fortified  capital  city  ;  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  strong  positions  of  Grand  Gulf  and 
Haines'  Bluff,  with  their  armament  of  20  heavy  guns;  de 
stroyed  the  railroads  and  bridges ;  and  made  the  investment  of 
Vicksburg  complete.  In  doing  this  McPherson's  and  McCler- 
nand's  corps,  had  marched  an  average  of  156  miles,  while 
Sherman's  had  marched  175  miles.  During  this  time  the 
united  strength  of  these  three  corps  did  not  exceed  45,000 
men.  The  limits  of  this  work  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell 
upon  the  brilliancy  of  this  campaign  nor  to  descant  upon  the 
surpassing  boldness  and  vigor  of  the  generalship  displayed  by 
Grant,  in  conducting  it.  There  is  nothing  in  history  since 
Hannibal  invaded  Italy  to  compare  with  it. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

VICKSBURG  INVESTED — THE  REBEL  WORKS — POSITION  OF  GRANT'S 
ARMY — JOHNSTON  ON  THE  EAST  SIDE  OF  THE  BIG  BLACK — THE 
FIRST  ASSAULT — ITS  FAILURE — THE  ASSAULT  OF  THE  22D  OF  MAY 
—  GREAT  BRAVERY  OF  THE  TROOPS — INCIDENTS — GRANT  DETER 
MINES  UPON  A  SIEGE — TROOPS  SENT  TO  WATCH  JOHNSTON — M'CLER- 
NAND'S  ORDER  —  M'CLERNAND  RELIEVED  FROM  HIS  COMMAND  — 
M'PHERSON'S  MINE — THE  CONTEMPLATED  FINAL  ASSAULT — FLAG 
OF  TRUCE — MEETING  OF  GRANT  AND  PEMBERTON — GRANT'S  TERMS 
— THE  SURRENDER — SHERMAN  ON  THE  MARCH  TO  JACKSON — RE 
TURNS  TO  BLACK  RIVER — REBELS  ON  THE  WEST  SIDE  OF  THE  MIS 
SISSIPPI  RIVER — FIGHT  AT  MILLIKEN's  BEND — BEHAVIOR  OF  THE 
COLORED  TROOPS — BATTLE  AT  HELENA — THE  REBELS  DEFEATED — 
HERRON  SENT  TO  RE-ENFORCE  BANKS — PORT  HUDSON  SURRENDERS 
ON  THE  8TH  OF  JULY — RANSOM  AT  NATCHEZ — THE  RESULTS  OF  THE 
VICKSBURG  CAMPAIGN — REJOICING  AT  THE  NORTH — THE  PRESI 
DENT'S  LETTER — GRANT  ORGANIZING  HIS  COMMAND — HE  AUTHOR 
IZES  FURLOUGHS — PUBLIC  DINNER  AT  MEMPHIS — GRANT'S  LETTER. 

THE  rebels  though  badly  beaten  were  at  last  concentrated 
within  the  fortifications  of  Yicksburg,  and  availing  themselves 
of  its  great  advantages  they  were  enabled  to  make  a  pro 
tracted  and  desperate  defence.  In  order  that  the  reader  may 
have  a  definite  understanding  of  the  rebel  position  and  the 
difficulties  that  yet  remained  for  the  Union  army  to  overcome, 
let  him  imagine  a  plateau  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  Mississippi,  originally  level,  or  sloping  off 
gently  towards  the  Big  Black,  but  now*  cut  and  seamed  in  all 
directions  by  ravines  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet  deep,  with 
steep  sides  made  more  difficult  by  a  heavy  growth  of  fallen 
timber,  which  the  rebels  had  cut  down  for  the  purpose  of  en 
cumbering  the  ground  and  giving  them  fair  range  upon  troops 


128  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

trying  to  advance  over  it.  These  ravines  leading  into  three 
creeks  emptying  into  the  Mississippi,  one  just  above  Vicks- 
burg,  another  within  its  limits,  and  the  third  entirely  below 
rt,  were  divided  by  high  and  difficult  ridges,  along  which  had 
been  thrown  up  a  series  of  open  and  closed  redoubts,  armed 
with  artillery  and  connected  by  single  and  double  lines  of  well 
constructed  rifle  trench  for  infantry.  The  entire  line,  includ 
ing  three  miles  of  river  front,  was  nearly  eight  miles  in  ex 
tent,  for  the  defence  of  which  the  rebel  General  had  some 
thing  over  twenty  thousand  effective  men. 

Grant's  army  was  posted  in  the  following  order:  Sher 
man's  corps,  composed  of  Steele's,  Blair's  and  Tuttle's 
divisions,  held  the  right,  extending  from  the  ridge  road  around 
to  the  river ;  McPherson,  with  Logan's,  Crocker's  and  Quim- 
by's  divisions,  held  the  center  on  both  sides  of  the  Jackson 
road ;  while  McClernand,  with  Carr's,  A.  J.  Smith's,  Oster- 
haus'  and  Hovey's  divisions,  held  the  left  extending  well 
around  to  the  south  side  of  the  city.*  The  ground  had  been 
reconnoitered  in  front  of  the  different  divisions,  and  although 
seen  to  be  exceedingly  difficult  it  was  not  regarded  as  impass 
able.  Grant  had  been  informed  by  his  cavalry  that  Johnston 
was  gathering  a  strong  force  on  the  east  side  of  the  Big 
Black  with  which  to  fall  upon  his  rear,  and  knowing  that 
Pemberton's  army  must  yet  be  in  considerable  disorder,  if  not 
actually  too  much  demoralized  to  make  a  determined  resist 
ance,  he  decided  upon  an  assault  of  the  enemy's  line. 

Accordingly  he  issued  orders  for  all  the  field  batteries  tc 
open  fire  upon  the  rebel  works  at  half-past  one,  and  that  at 
precisely  two  o'clock,  the  entire  army  should  move  to  the 
attack.  These  orders  were  promptly  obeyed;  the  batteries 
poured  forth  an  incessant  fire  for  over  a  half-hour  at  close 
range,  dismounting  and  silencing  nearly  all  the  rebel  guns ; 
and  promptly  at  the  time  appointed,  the  infantry  sprang  cheer 
fully  forward,  confident  of  sweeping  over  the  rebel  works  as 
they  had  done  at  the  Big  Black  bridge.  Steele,  Blair,  Logan 

*  Lauman's,  Herron's  and  McArthur's  divisions  were  afterwards  added  to  the 
investing  force. 


40  miles 

THE  VICKSBURG  CAMPAIGN. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  129 

and  Carr  made  fair  headway,  but  the  rebels  replied  with  spirit 
and  with  deadly  effect.  The  ground  was  too  much  broken 
and  encumbered  with  fallen  timber  and  regular  abattis ;  no 
order  could  be  maintained  among  the  troops,  though  every 
effort  was  made  to  carry  them  forward  even  in  disarray ;  but 
it  was  impossible.  The  Thirteenth  Regulars,  Eighty-third  In 
diana  and  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  Illinois,  planted 
their  colors  on  the  rebel  parapet,  but  officers  and  men  alike 
perceived  their  inability  to  do  more,  and  suspended  the  attack. 

The  national  loss  was  considerable  with  no  adequate  gain 
except  a  more  advanced  position  and  a  better  understanding 
of  the  ground  in  front  of  the  rebel  works. 

The  failure  of  this  attempt  did  not,  however,  cut  off  all 
hope  of  carrying  the  place  without  resorting  to  the  laborious 
process  of  a  siege.  The  troops  were  permitted  to  rest  for 
awhile  ;  roads  were  opened  along  the  lines  of  investment,  and 
to  the  new  bases  of  supplies  at  Chickasaw  Landing  and  War- 
renton ;  provisions  and  ammunition  were  brought  forward, 
and  everything  was  got  in  readiness  for  a  new  trial.  At  six 
o'clock  P.  M.,  of  the  21st,  Grant  issued  orders  directing  that 
at  ten  o'clock  the  next  day  a  general  attack  should  be  made 
along  the  entire  line,  and  particularly  on  all  the  roads  leading 
into  Vicksburg.  In  pursuance  of  these  instructions  the  troops 
moved  forward  at  the  appointed  time,  but  owing  to  the  broken 
ground  over  which  they  were  compelled  to  march,  it  was  soon 
found  to  be  impossible  to  move  either  in  well  ordered  lines,  or 
in  weighty  effective  columns.  As  before,  officers  and  men 
from  right  to  left  did  their  best.  Sherman's  troops  reached 
the  parapet  of  the  works  in  their  front,  and  planted  their 
colors  upon  them,  but  could  not  cross.  Logan's  division  of 
McPherson's  corps,  headed  by  Stevenson's  brigade,  made  a 
gallant  and  orderly  advance,  but  the  position  they  assailed 
was  the  strongest  part  of  the*  rebel  line,  and  they  were  com 
pelled  to  fall  back,  after  losing  heavily.  Lawler's  brigade  of 
McClernand's  corps,  remembering  their  success  at  Big  Black 
Eiver  bridge,  dashed  forward  in  handsome  style,  and  at  one 
time  seemed  about  to  add  a  new  victory  to  the  number  already 


130  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

inscribed  upon  their  tattered  colors.  Sergeant  Griffith*  with 
a  handful  of  men  from  the  leading  regiment,  actually  crossed 
the  rebel  parapet  and  captured  a  number  of  prisoners,  but  the 
regiment  found  it  impossible  to  follow  him.  After  holding 
on  at  the  ditch  of  the  rebel  works  for  several  hours,  they  were 
compelled  to  fall  back.  This  partial  success  was  magnified 
by  McClernand  into  the  capture  of  "  several  points  of  the 
enemy's  entrenchments/'  He,  therefore,  called  upon  Grant 
for  re-enforcements,  expressing  his  confidence  that  with  them 
he  could  take  the  city.  Grant,  from  his  head-quarters  had 
witnessed  the  attack  along  McClernand's  front,  and  therefore 
doubted  the  propriety  of  sending  re-enforcements,  but  fearing 
that  he  might  underestimate  the  advantages  which  had  been 
gained,  he  reluctantly  consented  to  send  one  of  McPherson's 
divisions,  and  instructed  that  officer  accordingly.  He  also 
informed  him  and  Sherman  of  what  McClernand  claimed  to 
have  done,  and  directed  them  to  renew  the  attack.  McPher- 
son  sent  Quimby's  division  from  his  left,  Boomer's  brigade 
leading.  The  attack  was  renewed  again,  and  this  time  with 
still  more  disastrous  results.  The  gallant  Boomer  f  was 
killed,  and  the  list  of  casualties  throughout  the  army  largely 
increased.  Simultaneously  with  the  land  attack,  Admiral 
Porter  attacked  the  river  front,  both  from  above  and  below, 
and  although  he  used  ammunition  without  stint,  he  could  not 
silence  the  rebel  guns. 

It  had  now  become  apparent  that  the  rebels  could  not  be 
dislodged,  except  by  a  siege,  or  starvation.  Grant  therefore 
determined  to  try  both.  He  sent  to  West  Tennessee  for  all 

*  The  gallantry  of  this  boy — not  yet  eighteen  years  old — was  greatly  praised 
by  the  entire  army.  Grant  promoted  him  at  once,  and  subsequently  obtained 
for  him  the  appointment  of  Cadet  at  West  Point,  where  he  graduated  with 
honor.  He  is  now  a  Lieutenant  of  Engineers  in  the  regular  army. 

t  Colonel  Boomer,  although  only  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  years  old,  was 
one  of  the  most  highly  accomplished  and  promising  officers  in  the  army.  His 
conduct  at  Champion's  Hill  and  in  the  battles  of  West  Tennessee,  had 
attracted  the  attention  and  won  for  him  the  regard  of  both  Grant  and 
McPherson.  Had  he  lived,  he  would  doubtless  have  risen  to  great  dis 
tinction. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  131 

the  troops  that  could  be  spared  from  there.  Halleck,  with 
great  alacrity,  gathered  all  that  could  be  dispensed  with  in 
West  Virginia,  Kentucky  and  Missouri,  and  sent  them  for 
ward.  Herron's  division  of  the  Thirteenth,  Lauman's  of  the 
Seventeenth,  Kimball's  and  Sewy  Smith's  of  the  Sixteenth 
corps,  under  Washburn,  and  the  Ninth  corps  under  Parke, 
were  brought  forward  in  succession  as  fast  as  steamboats 
could  be  found  to  transport  them ;  so  that  within  a  fortnight 
the  besieging  army  was  increased  to  something  over  seventy- 
five  thousand  effective  men.  In  order  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  garrison,  Grant  completed  the  investment  of  the  rebel 
lines ;  established  batteries  on  the  peninsula  in  front  of  the 
city ;  and  stationed  a  force  at  Milliken's  Bend.  For  the  pur 
pose  of  rendering  his  own  lines  secure,  he  caused  all  of  the 
roads  leading  towards  the  Big  Black  to  be  obstructed  by 
felling  trees  in  them. 

Sherman  with  a  corps  of  observation,  consisting  of  about 
twenty  thousand  men,  drawn  from  the  investing  force,  and 
further  strengthened  by  the  Ninth  corps,  was  thrown  out  to 
the  north-eastward  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  move 
ments  of  Johnston,  now  threatening  the  line  of  the  Black 
Eiver  with  something  over  twenty  thousand  men.  Sherman 
established  a  strong  line  of  detached  works,  extending  from 
near  Bridgeport  on  the  Big  Black,  by  the  way  of  Tiffinton  and 
Milldale,  to  the  Yazoo ;  Osterhaus  kept  watch  over  the  Big 
Black  below  the  railroad  crossing ;  while  Washburn  estab 
lished  a  strongly  fortified  camp  on  Sherman's  left,  at  Haines' 
Bluff.  During  all  this  time  the  siege  operations  were  pushed 
steadily  forward  night  and  day ;  parallels  and  trenches  were 
opened  at  every  favorable  point;  batteries  were  built  and 
cavaliers  erected  ;  heavy  guns  were  borrowed  from  the  navy 
and  mounted  on  commanding  points  ;  roads  were  made  ;  siege 
materials  were  prepared  ;  mines  were  sunk ;  towers  for  sharp 
shooters  were  built ;  every  means  that  ingenuity  could  devise, 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  work  in  hand.  Wooden  mor 
tars  were  made  for  throwing  grenades  and  small  shells ;  and 
sharpshooters  were  kept  constantly  on  the  watch  for  the 


132  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

luckless  rebels  who  might  show  themselves  above  their  works. 
So  accurate  and  destructive  was  their  fire  that  after  the  first 
four  or  five  days  every  rebel  gun  was  silenced,  and  when  the 
place  was  finally  taken,  hundreds  of  rebels  were  found  in  the 
hospitals,  who  had  been  wounded  in  their  hands  and  arms 
while  raising  them  above  the  parapet  to  ram  cartridges. 

Immediately  after  the  assault  of  May  22d,  McClernand 
issued  a  bombastic  order  of  congratulation  to  his  command, 
claiming  for  them  most  of  the  honor  of  the  campaign,  and  in 
directly  censuring  Grant,  and  casting  unjust  reflections  upon 
Sherman  and  McPherson.  These  officers  protested  to  Grant, 
sending  him  a  copy  of  the  order  which  they  had  cut  from  a 
newspaper.  This  was  the  first  information  which  Grant  had 
received  of  the  existence  of  such  an  order,  McClernand  hav 
ing  failed  to  directly  transmit  to  him  a  copy  as  required  by 
regulations.  Grant  enquired  of  McClernand  if  the  newspa 
per  copy  was  correct,  and  if  so,  why  he  had  not  complied 
with  the  rules  of  the  service,  in  forwarding  it  to  army  head 
quarters.  McClernand's  answer  was  defiant  in  the  extreme. 
Grant,  therefore,  relieved  him  from  command,  and  assigned 
Ord  to  the  Thirteenth  corps.  This  secured  entire  harmony 
throughout  the  army. 

McPherson's  mine  in  front  of  Logan's  division  was  exploded 
at  four  o'clock,  p.  M.,  on  the  26th  of  June,  throwing  a  number 
of  rebels  and  a  large  column  of  earth  high  into  the  air,  shak 
ing  the  ground  for  several  hundred  yards  like  an  earthquake, 
and  leveling  the  salient  of  Fort  Hill.  In  anticipation  of  this 
effect,  Grant  had  issued  orders  for  a  demonstration  along  the 
lines,  with  an  immediate  assault  upon  that  part  of  the  rebel 
front,  shaken  by  the  explosion.  The  assault  was  made  by 
John  E.  Smith's  brigade  but  was  unsuccessful,  and  after  suf 
fering  severe  loss  the  troops  were  withdrawn. 

By  this  time  the  heads  of  saps  at  various  points  had  been 
pushed  close  up  to  the  rebel  works,  and  in  several  instances 
even  into  the  very  ditches.  Orders  were  issued  that  they 
should  be  widened  and  connected  so  as  to  permit  them  to  be 
used  for  the  protection  of  troops  for  a  general  and  final  assault. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  133 

It  was  known  from  deserters,  and  confirmed  by  voluntary 
information  from  the  rebel  pickets,  that  their  provisions  were 
nearly  exhausted.  Having  completed  all  the  necessary  ar 
rangements,  Grant  directed  that  the  attack  should  be  made  on 
the  morning  of  the  5th  of  July,  but  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  3d,  the  rebel  General  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce  with  a  propo 
sition  for  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  arrange  the 
terms  of  capitulation.  Grant  declined  to  leave  the  matter  to 
commissioners  or  to  allow  any  other  terms  than  those  of  "  un 
conditional  surrender  "  and  humane  treatment  to  all  prisoners 
of  war,  but  signified  his  willingness  to  meet  and  confer  with 
General  Pemberton  in  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  details. 
This  meeting  took  place  between  the  lines,  in  front  of  Mc- 
Pherson's  corps,  and  gave  rise  to  the  following  ultimatum, 
submitted  in  writing  by  General  Grant : 

"In  conformity  with  the  agreement  of  this  afternoon,  I  w^.l  submit 
the  following  propositions  for  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg, 
public  stores,  etc.  On  your  accepting  the  terms  proposed,  I  will  march 
in  one  division  as  a  guard,  and  take  possession  at  eight  o'clock  A.  M., 
to-morrow.  As  soon  as  paroles  can  be  made  out  and  signed  by  the 
officers  and  men,  you  will  be  allowed  to  march  out  of  our  lines ;  the 
officers  taking  with  them  their  regimental  clothing,  and  staff,  field,  and 
cavalry  officers  one  horse  each.  The  rank  and  file  will  be  allowed  all 
their  clothing,  but  no  other  property.  If  these  conditions  are  accepted, 
any  amount  of  rations  you  may  deem  necessary  can  be  taken  from  the 
stores  you  now  have,  and  also  the  necessary  cooking  utensils  for  pre 
paring  them,  and  thirty  wagons  also,  counting  two  two-horse  or  mule 
teams  as  one.  You  will  be  allowed  to  transport  such  articles  as  cannot 
be  carried  along.  The  same  conditions  will  be  allowed  to  all  sick  and 
wounded  officers  and  privates,  as  fast  as  they  become  able  to  travel. 
The  paroles  of  these  latter  must  be  signed,  however,  whilst  officers  are 
present  authorized  to  sign  the  roll  of  prisoners." 

Pemberton  answered  as  follows  : 

"  GENERAL— I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
communication  of  this  date,  proposing  terms  for  the  surrender  of  this 
garrison  and  post.  In  the  main,  your  terms  are  accepted ;  but,  in 
justice  both  to  the  honor  and  spirit  of  my  troops,  manifested  in  the 
defense  of  Vicksburg,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  amend 
ments  ;  which,  if  acceded  to  by  you,  will  perfect  the  agreement  between 


134  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

us.  At  ten  o'clock  to-morrow,  I  propose  to  evacuate  the  works  in  and 
around  Vicksburg,  and  to  surrender  the  city  and  garrison  under  my 
command,  by  marching  out  with  my  colors  and  arms  and  stacking  them 
in  front  of  my  present  lines — after  which  you  will  take  possession  ;  offi 
cers  to  retain  their  side-arms  and  personal  property,  and  the  rights  and 
property  of  citizens  to  be  respected." 

Grant  rejoined  declining  to  fetter  himself  by  any  stipula 
tions  in  regard  to  citizens;  limiting  rebel  officers  to  their 
private  baggage,  side-arms,  and  one  horse  each  to  mounted 
officers,  and  giving  him  till  nine  o'clock  to  consider  the  matter. 
On  these  terms  the  surrender  took  place  early  on  the  4th 
of  July.  By  three  o'clock  our  troops  had  taken  possession 
of  the  city,  and  all  public  stores ;  the  gun-boats  and  trans 
ports  had  landed  at  the  levee ;  and  the  troops  charged  with 
keeping  order  had  gone  into  their  camps.  The  rebels  were 
retained  as  prisoners  for  six  or  eight  days,  till  their  paroles 
could  be  made  out  and  properly  delivered,  during  which  time 
they  were  glad  enough  to  draw  their  subsistence  from  the 
national  stores.* 

Grant's  losses  during  the  entire  campaign  were  943  killed, 
7,095  wounded,  and  537  missing ;  total,  8,575,  of  whom  4,236 
were  killed  and  wounded  before  Vicksburg. 

The  rebels  surrendered  21,000  effective  men,  and  6,000 
wounded  in  hospital ;  besides  over  120  guns  of  all  calibers, 
with  many  thousand  small  arms. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  Yicksburg  would  surrender, 
Grant  reinforced  Sherman,  and  sent  him  to  drive  off  Johnston. 
The  march  was  begun  promptly,  and  pushed  with  celerity  to 
Jackson,  whither  Johnston  fled.  He  was  dislodged  from  there, 
however,  in  a  short  time,  and  continued  his  retreat  toward 
Meridian.  Sherman  did  not  follow  him  further,  on  account 
of  the  exceedingly  hot  weather,  and  the  great  scarcity  of 

*"  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  ii.  p.  74.  "  The  statement  that  the 
garrison  of  Vicksburg  was  surrendered  on  account  of  an  inexorable  distress, 
in  whicli  the  soldiers  had  to  feed  on  mules,  with  the  occasional  luxury  of  rats, 
is  either  to  be  taken  as  a  designing  falsehood,  or  as  the  cruelities  of  that  fool 
ish  newspaper  romance  so  common  in  the  war.  In  neither  case  does  it  merit 
refutation.'' 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  135 

water  in  the  country  east  of  the  -Pearl  River.  It  was  also 
thought  that  the  troops  were  too  much  fatigued  by  the  hard 
work  of  the  siege  to  venture  upon  a  campaign  of  indefinite 
duration  at  that  time.  Grant,  therefore,  permitted  Sherman 
to  return  to  the  Black  Eiver,  and  to  go  into  camp  with  his 
own  corps,  sending  the  rest  of  his  forces  to  their  respective 
corps. 

During  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  the  rebels  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  were  very  active  in  striving  to  annoy  the 
troops  along  the  river,  and  to  interrupt  our  communications, 
but  under  the  efficient  command  of  General  Hugh  T.  Reid,  at 
Lake  Providence,  and  General  Dennis,  at  Milliken's  Bend, 
they  were  foiled  and  finally  driven  back  with  considerable 
loss. 

At  Milliken's  Bend,  on  the  6th  of  June,  the  colored  troops 
fought  their  first  battle  in  the  West  and  with  the  assistance 
of  the  gun-boats  and  a  small  regiment  of  white  troops,  de 
feated  a  force  of  2,500  or  3,000  rebels  under  McCulloch. 
Dennis'  force  consisted  of  1,410  effective  men.  He  lost  127 
killed,  287  wounded,  and  300  missing ;  while  the  rebels  lost 
150  killed,  and  300  wounded. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  Lieutenant- General  Holmes,  then  com 
manding  the  trans-Mississippi  department,  with  a  force  of 
about  8,000  men,  under  Generals  Price,  Parsons,  Marma- 
duke,  Fagan,  McRae,  and  Walker,  made  a  vigorous  attack 
upon  General  Prentiss  at  Helena,  whose  garrison  consisted 
of  3,800  effective  men,  behind  strongly  constructed  and  well 
armed  earth-works.  The  action  lasted  nearly  all  day,  but 
thanks  to  the  bravery  of  the  troops,  the  good  management  of 
Generals  Prentiss  and  Solomon,  and  the  timely  assistance  of 
the  gun-boats,  the  rebels  were  defeated.  Their  loss  amounted 
to  173  killed,  687  wounded,  and  1,100  prisoners,  total,  1,960  ; 
while  Prentiss  lost  fewer  than  250,  all  told. 

Immediately  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  Grant  sent  Her- 
ron's  division  to  re-enforce  Banks  at  Port  Hudson,  which 
surrendered  on  the  8th  of  July ;  thus  giving  us  10,000  more 
prisoners  and  50  guns.  These  were  also  fruits  of  the  great 


130  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

campaign  which  Grant  had  just  finished,  and  should  be 
credited  to  him  almost  as  much  as  to  Banks. 

Ransom  was  sent  to  Natchez  to  break  up  the  business  of 
bringing  cattle  from  Texas  for  the  support  of  the  rebel  army. 
That  active  officer  did  his  duty  admirably,  capturing  some 
5,000  head,  2,000  of  which  were  sent  to  Banks,  and  the 
others  issued  to  the  army  of  the  Tennessee. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  limits  of  this  book  will  not 
permit  us  to  go  more  fully  into  the  details  of  the  operations 
we  have  just  described.  The  marches,  skirmishes  and  battles 
of  the  various  regiments,  brigades  and  divisions ;  the  bravery, 
constancy  and  devotion  of  officers ;  the  patience,  ingenuity 
and  patriotism  of  the  private  soldiers,  are  all  worthy  of  at 
tention  from  the  historian,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  some  day 
receive  it. 

The  campaign  was  a  vital  blow  to  the  rebel  power  in  the 
South-west.  It  severed  the  Confederacy,  opened  the  Missis 
sippi  River  to  New  Orleans,  and  released  a  large  force  of 
national  troops  for  operations  farther  to  the  eastward.  Grant 
became  thenceforth  the  central  figure  of  our  military  history. 
The  country  hailed  him  with  unfeigned  delight  and  sincerity 
as  the  only  General  who  was  always  successful.  The  stories 
against  his  private  character,  which  had  been  so  generally 
circulated,  were  now  disclaimed  and  disbelieved,  and  he  was 
justly  looked  upon  not  only  as  a  successful  and  meritorious 
General,  but  as  a  pure  and  unselfish  man,  equally  above 
private  vices  and  ignoble  fears.  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  seems 
up  to  this  time  to  have  regarded  him  with  suspicion  if  not 
with  absolute  distrust,  and  to  have  done  him  injustice  in 
thought  if  not  in  action,  wrote  him  the  letter  which  follows, 
reflecting  as  much  credit  upon  the  honest  nature  of  the  writer 
as  it  did  justice  to  Grant : 

"  EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  July  13,  1863. 

"  To  MAJOR-GENERAL  GRANT — My  Dear  General :  I  do  not  remember 
that  you  and  I  ever  met  personally.  I  write  this  now  as  a  grateful  ac 
knowledgment  for  the  almost  inestimable  service  you  have  done  the 
country.  I  wish  to  say  further:  when  you  first  reached  the  vicinity  of 


LIFE   OP   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  137 

Vicksburg,  I  thought  you  should  do  what  you  finally  did, — march  the 
troops  across  the  neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the  transports  and  thus 
go  below;  and  I  never  had  any  faith,  except  a  general  hope  that  you 
knew  better  than  I,  that  the  Yazoo  Pass  expedition  and  the  like  could 
succeed.  When  you  got  below  and  took  Port  Gibson,  Grand  Gulf  and 
vicinity,  I  thought  you  should  go  down  the  river  and  join  General  Banks ; 
and  when  you  turned  northward,  east  of  the  Big  Black,  I  feared  it  was 
a  mistake.  I  now  wish  to  make  a  personal  acknowledgment  that  you 
were  right  and  I  was  wrong.  Yours  very  truly, 

"A.  LINCOLN." 

Grant  was  neither  elated  nor  made  vain  by  his  victories. 
Nor  did  he,  like,  some  of  our  Generals,  imagine  that  he  had 
done  enough,  and  ask  to  go  home,  or  to  be  permitted  to  take 
a  rest.  He  busied  himself  in  consolidating  his  conquest,  re 
organizing  his  command,  and  aiding  the  poor  negroes  who 
had  fled  from  slavery,  by  publishing  regulations  for  their 
government  and  encouragement.  He  also  issued  orders  au 
thorizing  furloughs  to  be  given  to  the  most  worthy  of  the 
soldiers,  and  took  particular  care  to  see  that  they  should  not 
be  required  to  pay  unreasonable  fare  upon  the  steamboats 
navigating  the  river  which  they  had  done  so  much  to  open. 

In  August,  a  public  dinner  was  tendered  him  by  the  loyal 
citizens  of  Memphis,  which  he  accepted,  in  a  letter  as  re 
markable  for  its  brevity  as  for  the  patriotic  sentiments  which 
it  contained.  He  wrote :  "  In  accepting  this  testimonial, 
which  I  do  at  great  sacrifice  of  personal  feelings,  I  simply 
desire  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the  first  public  exhibition  in  Mem 
phis,  of  loyalty  to  the  Government  which  I  represent  in 
the  Department  of  the  Tennessee.  I  should  dislike  to  refuse, 
for  considerations  of  personal  convenience,  to  acknowledge 
anywhere  or  in  any  form,  the  existence  of  sentiments  which 
I  have  so  long  and  so  ardently  desired  to  see  manifested  in 
this  department.  The  stability  of  this  Government,  and  the 
unity  of  this  nation,  depend  solely  on  the  cordial  support  and 
the  earnest  loyalty  of  the  people" 

These  words  are  not  less  appropriate  to-day  than  they  were 
then,  and  should  be  engraved  deeply  upon  the  heart  of  every 
American  citizen. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

SITUATION  OF  AFFAIRS  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY— ROSECRANS  AT 
CHICKAMAUGA—  GRANT  ORDERED  TO  LOUISVILLE— MEETS  OTANTON 
AT  INDIANAPOLIS— ASSIGNED  TO  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  MILITARY 
DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI — ROSECRANS  RELIEVED  BY  THOMAS — 
ARMY  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND  BESIEGED  IN  CHATTANOOGA — GRANT 
TELEGRAPHS  TO  THOMAS — GOES  TO  CHATTANOOGA — BRAGG  ON 
LOOKOUT  MOUNTAIN — PRECARIOUS  SITUATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OF 
THE  CUMBERLAND — GRANT  EQUAL  TO  THE  EMERGENCY — REPOS 
SESSION  OF  LOOKOUT  VALLEY — SHERMAN  APPROACHING  FROM 
MEMPHIS — PREPARATIONS  FOR  BATTLE — BRAGG'S  MESSAGE — BAT 
TLE  OF  LOOKOUT  MOUNTAIN — BATTLE  OF  CHATTANOOGA — GRANT'S 
GENERALSHIP — NOTE — ORGANIZATION  OF  UNITED  STATES  FORCES 
—  ORGANIZATION  OF  REBEL  FORCES. 

AT  the  termination  of  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  military 
operations  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  were  conducted  by  three 
different  armies  :  the  army  of  the  Tennessee  under  Grant,  the 
army  of  the  Cumberland  under  Rosecraris,  and  the  army  of 
the  Ohio  under  Burnside.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in 
January  1863,  General  Grant  recommended  the  consolidation 
of  the  various  departments  of  the  West  into  one  command. 
His  brilliant  success  on  the  Mississippi  River,  followed  as  it 
was  by  the  bloody  defeat  of  Rosecrans  at  Chickamauga,  se 
cured  for  that  sound  strategic  advice,  consideration  which  it 
ought  to  have  received  months  before,  and  which  would  prob 
ably  have  saved  the  national  cause  the  disaster  of  Chicka 
mauga,  which  was  a  legitimate  result  of  Halleck's  dispersive 
policy.  During  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  Johnston  detached 
a  considerable  force  from  Bragg,  leaving  him  largely  outnum 
bered  by  the  force  in  his  front.  General  Hurlbut,  who  com 
manded  in  West  Tennessee,  through  his  admirable  system  of 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  139 

scouts,  obtained  timely  notice  of  this  detachment,  as  well  as 
an  accurate  estimate  of  Bragg's  remaining  force,  which  he 
sent  to  Rosecrans  without  delay.  The  Government  urged 
Eosecrans  to  avail  himself  of  the  chance  thus  given  him,  but 
he  delayed  till  too  late.  When  he  did  move,  the  rebels  re 
treated  rapidly,  through  Chattanooga. 

Rosecrans  pressed  on  with  widely  scattered  forces,  and  full 
of  exultation  at  the  success  of  his  plans.  But  Vicksburg  had 
fallen,  and  Lee  had  been  driven  from  Pennsylvania  by  the 
splendid  victory  of  Gettysburg.  Throwing  themselves  strictly 
on  the  defensive  in  the  East  and  South-west,  the  rebel  au 
thorities  availed  themselves  of  the  lull  in  operations  elsewhere 
and  strongly  re-enforced  Bragg  by  sending  Buckner  from 
East  Tennessee,  Longstreet  from  Virginia  and  Polk  from  Ala 
bama.  Bragg  now  turned  suddenly  upon  Rosecrans  with  an 
overwhelming  force  and  Chickamauga  was  the  result.  Had 
active  military  operations  been  entrusted  to  the  administration 
of  one  judicious  commander,  such  as  Grant  proved  himself  to 
be,  this  could  not  have  happened,  for  he  would  have  either 
moved  the  various  armies  at  one  time,  in  sufficient  strength  to 
make  each  successful,  or  he  would  have  strengthened  one  by 
detachments  from  the  others  to  such  an  extent  as  to  have  ren 
dered  its  success  a  matter  of  perfect  certainty;  while  the 
others  in  their  weakened  condition  would  have  been  kept  on 
the  defensive,  or  used  subordinately  to  assist  the  grand  army. 
As  usual,  however,  the  country  and  its  civil  administration 
learned  this  obvious  lesson  only  after  it  had  been  printed  in 
the  bloody  characters  of  defeat. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Grant  was  di 
rected  to  send  re-enforcements  across  the  country  to  Rose 
crans,  and  on  the  10th  of  October,  he  started  from  Vicksburg 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  orders  for  his  future  movements 
at  Cairo.  At  the  latter  place  he  was  directed  to  proceed  to 
Louisville ;  and  at  Indianapolis  he  was  met  by  Mr.  Stanton, 
the  energetic  and  capable  Secretary  of  War,  who,  after  con 
ferring  fully  with  him,  issued  the  following  order,  dated  at 
Washington,  October  16th : 


140  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

"By  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  Depart 
ments  of  the  Ohio,  of  the  Cumberland,  and  of  the  Tennessee,  will 
constitute  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi.  Major-General  U. 
S.  Grant,  United  States  Army,*  is  placed  in  command  of  the  Military 
Division  of  the  Mississippi,  with  his  head-quarters  in  the  field." 

At  Grant's  request  Kosecrans  was  relieved  from  the  com 
mand  of  the  Department  and  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and 
replaced  by  that  able,  unconquerable,  and  modest  soldier,  Gen 
eral  George  H.  Thomas ;  while  Sherman  was  assigned  to  the 
army  of  the  Tennessee. f 

The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  besieged  in  Chatta 
nooga,  and  its  supplies  were  almost  entirely  cut  off,  so  that 
the  tenure  of  that  place,  which  had  cost  already  so  much, 
was  regarded  as  exceedingly  precarious.  Grant,  therefore, 
telegraphed  at  once  to  Thomas  to  hold  on  at  all  hazards ;  to 
which  Thomas  grimly  replied :  "  We'll  hold  the  town  till  we 
starve."  The^iext  day  Grant  went  forward  by  rail,  accom 
panied  by  his  old  staff,  to  Bridgeport,  and  thence  rode  across 
the  mountains,  by  a  circuitous  and  difficult  road,  to  Chatta 
nooga,  reaching  that  place  on  the  night  of  the  23d,  after 
lying  out  upon  the  mountains  in  a  drenching  rain,  and  re 
ceiving  a  severe  bruise  from  his  horse  falling  upon  him. 
This  bruise  was  rendered  the  more  painful  from  the  fact  that 
he  had  not  recovered  from  a  serious  injury  received  in  a  simi 
lar  manner  at  New  Orleans  several  weeks  before.  With  his 
usual  directness  and  promptitude,  he  set  to  work  at  once  to 
rescue  the  army  from  its  peril,  and  to  prepare  it  for  final 
victory.  As  before  stated,  Bragg  had  closely  invested  Chat-' 
tanooga.  By  taking  possession  of  Lookout  Mountain,  and 

*  Grant  was  promoted  to  be  Major-General  in  the  regular  army  as  a  reward 
for  his  victories  during  the  campaign  of  Vicksburg;  his  commission  was 
dated  July  4th  1863. 

tThe  entire  force  now  under  Grant,  consisted  of  the  Fourth,  Ninth, 
Eleventh,  Twelfth,  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth  corps, 
commanded  respectively  by  Generals  Gordon  Granger,  Potter,  Howard,  Slo- 
cum,  J.  M.  Palmer,  Blair,  Hurlbut,  and  McPherson.  Thomas  commanded 
the  Fourth  and  Fourteenth  corps;  Sherman  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and 
Seventeenth;  Hooker  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth,  from  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac,  and  Burnside  the  Ninth  and  a  part  of  the  Twenty-third  under  Manson 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  141 

throwing  a  corps  into  Lookout  Valley5  he  had  also  cut  off 
its  communication  with  Bridgeport  and  Stevenson,  the  ba-se 
of  supplies,  both  by  rail  and  river.  The  next  best  line  was 
by  a  poor  wagon  roa^l  along  the  north  side  of  "the  Tennessee, 
but  the  river  being  only  a  few  hundred  yards  wide,  the  rebels 
also  closed  this  road  by  an  effective  fire  from  their  sharp 
shooters.  This  left  no  other  available  route  but  two  paths, 
for  they  can  not  be  called  roads,  across  the  Cumberland 
mountains,  the  shortest  of  which  was  about  fifty  miles,  and 
the  other  about  eighty,  and  as  the  rains  were  now  becoming 
frequent,  they  soon  got  to  be  almost  entirely  impassable  for 
even  empty  wagons.  By  the  1st  of  November  they  were  so 
bad  that  a  first-class  six  mule  team,  could  not  haul  more  than 
six  hundred  pounds  of  provisions,  besides  the  forage  for  the 
team,  from  Bridgeport  to  Chattanooga;  and  in  many  cases 
after  getting  through,  the  mules  were  too  much  reduced  to 
return  with  the  empty  wagon.  It  is  estimated  by  the  quar 
termaster's  department,  that  ten  thousand  mules  and  artillery 
horses  died  there  from  starvation  during  the  months  of  October 
and  November.  The  prospect  was  unpromising  in  the  high 
est  degree.  The  troops  were  reduced  to  quarter  rations  and 
very  scant  ones  at  that;  but  fortunately  a  good  supply  of 
ammunition  yet  remained  on  hand.  Under  these  circum 
stances  there  was  no  salvation  for  the  army  but  in  opening  a 
line  by  which  supplies  could  be  brought  to  it.  Even  a  re 
treat,  had  it  ever  been  thought  of,  could  not  have  been  made 
through,  the  mountains,  except  by  the  abandonment  of  ar 
tillery,  trains,  and  baggage  of  every  sort.  After  a  rapid 
but  careful  study  of  the  entire  situation,  Grant  decided  to 
adopt  the  plan  already  partially  matured  by  General  Thomas 
and  his  Chief  Engineer,  General  William  F.  Smith,  having 
for  its  immediate  object  the  repossession  of  Lookout  Val 
ley  and  the  re-establishment  of  rail,  steamboat  and  wagon 
communication,  by  the  way  of  Brown's  Ferry  with  Bridgeport. 
In  order  to  carry  this  plan  into  effect,  Hooker,  with  the 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  corps,  was  directed  to  cross  the  Ten 
nessee  at  Bridgeport,  and  to  march  via  Shellmound  and 


142  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GKANT. 

Whiteside,  across  the  Raccoon  Mountains,  to  "Wauhatchie  and 
the  lower  end  of  Lookout  Valley.  General  Palmer  was 
sent  with  a  division  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  from  Chat 
tanooga  by  the  north  side  of  the  river,  to  make  a  demon 
stration,  and  to  cross  at  Kelly's  Ferry,  for  the  purpose 
of  supporting  General  Hooker,  should  it  become  necessary ; 
while  Smith,  with  eighteen  hundred  picked  men,  under  the 
immediate  command  of  General  Hazen,  was  directed  to  em 
bark  in  pontoons  at  Chattanooga,  float  under  cover  of  dark 
ness  by  the  rebel  lines  at  Lookout,  land  at  Brown's  Ferry, 
and  there  secure  a  bridge  head  for  the  protection  of  the  pon 
toon  bridge  to  be  constructed  at  that  place.  These  delicate 
operations  were  so  handsomely  combined  as  to  result  in  per 
fect  success.  Smith  seized  the  heights,  covering  the  ferry,  on 
the  night  of  October  27th,  fortified  them  without  delay,  and 
laid  his  bridge  in  a  short  time.  Hooker's  column,  composed 
of  Howard's  corps  and  Geary's  division  of  Slocum's  corps,  de 
bouched  into  the  valley  early  the  next  day,  having  met  with  no 
serious  resistance.  Communication  was  opened  at  once  with 
Smith,  and  arrangements  made  for  bringing  forward  supplies. 
The  rebels  were  taken  completely  by  surprise,  but 
were  not  dismayed  by  the  success  of  General  Grant's  com 
binations.  From  the  top  of  Lookout  Mountain  they  looked 
down  into  Hooker's  camp,  which  unfortunately  had  been 
somewhat  widely  scattered,  and  took  the  sudden  resolution  of 
falling  upon  him,  by  surprise.  Accordingly  after  midnight 
of  the  28th,  McLaw's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps,,  sallied 
from  its  camp  on  the  heights  of  Lookout,  and  after  a  march 
of  two  miles  rushed  confidently  upon  the  camp  of  Geary's 
division  at  Wauhatchie.  But  Geary  (now  Governor  of  Penn 
sylvania)  although  surprised,  formed  his  gallant  veterans 
as  best  he  could,  and  stood  bravely  to  the  defense  of  his  posi 
tion.  The  rebel  onset,  made  with  unearthly  yells,  was  at  first 
successful ;  but  Howard  being  near  at  hand,  pushed  at  once 
towards  the  firing,  and  between  the  two  forces  the  rebels  were 
soon  repulsed,  leaving  their  dead  and  wounded  upon  the  field. 
The  next  day  Hooker  redistributed  his  forces,  and  began  the 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  143 

construction  of  works,  the  better  to  enable  them  to  cover  the 
newly  established  supply  lines.  Grant  directed  the  fortifica 
tion  of  the  passes  in  the  Raccoon  Mountains,  and  stationed 
detachments  near  them,  so  that  the  river  from  Bridgeport  to 
Chattanooga  was  soon  firmly  under  his  control.  Steamboats 
were  built,  old  ones  were  repaired,  the  railroad  bridges  were 
replaced,  pontoon  bridges  across  the  Tennessee  were  laid, 
wagons  and  mules  were  brought  from  the  rear.  With  these 
things  the  hungry  army  soon  found  all  its  wants  bountifully 
supplied.  The  depression  which  had  followed  Chickamauga, 
was  rapidly  replaced  by  a  confident  spirit  of  aggression. 
Sherman  with  his  army  of  swift  marching  veterans,  was 
known  to  be  approaching  by  the  way  of  Corinth,  Decatur,  and 
Stevenson,  and,  as  if  to  give  to  our  confidence  the  assurance 
of  success,  the  rebels  were  about  to  commit  a  fatal  error. 

Burnside,  with  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  acting  with  entire  in 
dependence  of  Rosecrans,  advanced  from  Camp  Nelson  in  Ken 
tucky,  by  the  way  of  Cumberland  Gap,  into  East  Tennessee, 
atout  the  1st  of  August.  He  took  possession  of  Knoxville 
and  the  rich  region  lying  about  it  as  far  down  the  valley  as 
the  line  of  the  Hiawassee.  Early  in  November,  Bragg  de 
tached  Longstreet  with  a  strong  force  to  drive  Burnside  from 
East  Tennessee.  The  rebel  movement  had  hardly  begun  be 
fore  it  became  known  to  Grant.  He  at  once  sent  the  Assist 
ant  Secretary  of  War,  who  was  with  him,  and  one  of  his 
own  staff  officers,  to  Burnside,  with  instructions  to  hold  on 
to  Knoxville,  disputing  all  the  ground  he  could  with  Long- 
street,  and  keeping  him  engaged  as  closely  as  possible,  during 
the  execution  of  movements  which  were  to  be  made  against 
Bragg.  Sherman  was  now  approaching  rapidly,  and  it  was 
hoped  that  everything  would  be  in  readiness  for  the  final  blow 
by  the  middle  of  the  month.  But  bad  roads,  swollen  streams, 
railroad  building  and  the  want  of  bridges  across  the  streams 
in  Northern  Alabama,  together  with  the  efforts  of  a  small 
force  of  rebels  under  S.  D.  Lee  and  Roddy,  delayed  Sherman 
till  about  the  20th.  Grant  had  become  exceedingly  impatient 
to  relieve  Burnside,  and  fixed  the  21st  for  the  attack  upon  the 


144  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

enemy ;  but  the  Tennessee  Kiver  had  begun  to  rise  rapidly, 
and  against  the  greatly  increased  currents  it  became  exceed 
ingly  difficult  to  keep  the  pontoon  bridges  in  place.  They 
were  frequently  swept  away,  but  as  frequently  repaired. 
Hence  the  concentration  of  the  troops  was  delayed.  In  spite 
of  all  that  could  be  done,  Osterhaus'  division  had  to  be  left 
in  Lookout  Valley,  thus  reducing  Sherman's  forces  to  about 
twenty  thousand  men,  the  last  of  whom  reached  the  posi 
tion  assigned  them  on  the  23d,  immediately  after  which  the 
more  active  operations  began, 

On  the  20th  the  rebel  army  occupied  a  position  extending 
from  Missionary  Ridge  across  the  Chattanooga  Valley  to  Look 
out  Mountain,  with  an  advanced  line  well  up  against  the  na 
tional  defenses,  but  they  had  evidently  begun  to  feel  some 
apprehension  for  their  situation.  Bragg  adopted  the  cheap 
and  rather  transparent  device  of  sending  a  message  to  Grant 
in  which  he  deemed  it  proper  to  inform  him  "  that  prudence 
would  dictate  "  the  early  removal  of  the  non-combatants  yet 
remaining  in  Chattanooga.  Grant  paid  no  further  attention 
to  this  message  than  to  hurry  his  preparations.  His  plan  of 
operations  was  to  attack  the  rebels  on  both  flanks  at  the  same 
time,  and  when  they  should  be  sufficiently  shaken,  to. throw 
his  whole  army  upon  them, — and  finish  the  work  with  a 
single  crushing  blow.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  Sherman 
was  directed  to  cross  the  Tennessee  River,  just  at  the  mouth 
of  the  South  Chickamauga,  by  means  of  a  pontoon  bridge,  and 
to  move  at  once  against  the  enemy's  position  along  Mission 
Ridge.  Thomas,  re-enforced  by  Howard's  corps,  occupying 
the  works  of  Chattanooga,  was  to  drive  back  the  rebel  center 
and  throwing  forward  his  left  to  connect  with  Sherman  ;  while 
Hooker,  with  Slocum's  corps  and  Osterhaus''  division,  was 
directed  to  drive  the  rebels  from  the  end  of  Lookout  Mount 
ain—and  connecting  with  Thomas — to  continue  pressing  them 
as  long  as  they  could  be  found.  The  entire  army  was  pro 
vided  with  two  days'  cooked  rations  in  haversacks,  and  one 
hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  per  man.  Nothing  which 
could  be  done  was  left  undone.  A  cavalry  expedition  was 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  145 

prepared  to  follow  Sherman  across  the  Tennessee,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  severing  the  railroad  from  Dalton  to  Knoxville,  and 
thus  cutting  off  the  chance  of  withdrawing  Longstreet  in 
time  for  him  to  take  part  in  the  battle.  After  this  plan  had 
been  fully  matured,  a  rebel  deserter  came  in  and  informed 
Grant  that  Bragg  was  retiring.  This,  in  connection  with  the 
message  already  referred  to,  caused  Grant  to  order  Thomas 
to  move  out  a  heavy  force  and  feel  the  enemy's  lines.  This 
was  done  on  the  afternoon  of  the  23d.  Wood's  division  was 
in-  front,  Sheridan's  division  of  the  Fourth  corps,  and  the 
Fourteenth  corps  under  Palmer  supporting,  Howard  in  reserve. 
The  troops  were  drawn  out  with  such  regularity  and  formed 
•with  such  precision,  that  the  rebel  Generals,  who  witnessed  it 
from  Mission  Ridge  and  Lookout,  thought  they  were  having 
a  general  parade  and  review ;  but  they  were  undeceived  in  a 
few  minutes,  by  the  rapid  advance  of  Wood's  division,  and  a 
vigorous  fire  from  the  heavy  guns  of  Fort  Wood.  Wood  con 
tinued  his  regular  advance  to  the  foot  of  Orchard  Knoll,  an 
outlying  ridge  parallel  to  Missionary  Ridge,  when  he  ordered 
a  charge,  which  was  gallantly  made,  and  resulted  in  the  cap 
ture  of  that  part  of  the  enemy's  advanced  line,  notwithstand 
ing  a  determined  effort  to  hold  it.  Sheridan  was  posted  on 
Wood's  right,  while  Palmer  was  thrown  forward  in  echelon. 
Entrenchments  were  rapidly  thrown  up,  and  by  night  were 
strong  enough  to  resist  any  attack  likely  to  be  made  upon 
them.  This  was  a  timely  movement,  as  it  caused  Bragg  to 
recall  a  division  which  he  had  just  started  to  re-enforce  Long- 
street,  and  which  would  have  given  that  General  a  great  pre 
ponderance  over  Burnside.  While  this  demonstration  was 
taking  place,  the  materials  for  Sherman's  bridge  had  been 
quietly  collected  by  General  Smith,  now  Grant's  Chief  En 
gineer,  near  the  place  intended  for  the  crossing.  The  troops 
were  concealed  behind  the  hills,  and  everything  in  readiness. 
Before  dawn  of  the  24th  a  large  force  was  thrown  to  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  river,  and  by  noon,  through  the  aid  of  the 
steamer  Dunbar,  under  the  charge  of  one  of  Grant's  staff 

officers,  two  divisions  had  reached  the  south  side  of  the  river. 
10 


146  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

The  bridge  was  constructed  rapidly,  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  Sherman's  entire  force  held  possession  of  the  north 
ern  end  of  Missionary  Ridge,  as  far  as  the  railroad  crossing. 
A  strong  line  of  entrenchments  was  thrown  up  at  once  to 
render  the  position  secure  against  all  mishaps. 

Hooker  began  his  movement  from  Lookout  Valley  the 
same  day,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Crossing  Look- 
"out  Creek  with  difficulty,  owing  to  its  swollen  condition,  he 
drove  back  the  rebel  pickets,  captured  the  rebel  camps  and 
rifle-pits,  with  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  by  noon  began  the 
ascent  of  Lookout  Mountain.  Wood  (S.  C.)5  Gross,  Geary, 
Osterhaus,  and  Cruft,  cheered  forward  their  men,  scrambling 
as  best  they  could  over  the  rugged  and  broken  ground, 
through  trees  and  vines,  up  the  steep  mountain's  side,  in  face 
of  determined  resistance.  By  two  o'clock  the  whole  mount 
ain-slope  was  carried ;  and  by  four,  was  so  thoroughly  forti 
fied  as  to  make  its  tenure  certain.  Communication  was  es 
tablished  at  once  with  Thomas'  right,  and  a  bridge  was  built 
across  Chattanooga  Creek,  by  which,  late  in  the  evening,  Car- 
lin's  brigade  was  sent  to  re-enforce  Hooker.  This  brigade 
was  posted  on  the  extreme  right  of  Hooker's  line,  relieving 
Geary's  jaded  men.  Shortly  after  taking  possession  of  the 
hastily  constructed  works,  Carlin  received  a  determined  attack 
from  the  rebels,  who  were  easily  repelled.  Seeing  now  that 
it  was  useless  to  struggle  longer,  they  descended  from  the 
mountain-top,  under  cover  of  darkness,  crossed  the  Chatta 
nooga  Valley,  and  joined  Bragg  on  Missionary  Eidge,  leav 
ing  their  rations  and  camp  equipage  in  the  hands  of  their 
assailants.  Carlin's  battle,  after  darkness  had  fully  set  in,  as 
viewed  from  the  town  below,  was  one  of  the  most  interesting 
sights  of  the  war. 

The  same  afternoon,  Howard  moved  out  from  Chattanooga, 
with  one  brigade  of  his  corps,  by  the  road  nearest  the  river, 
crossed  Citico  Creek,  and  formed  a  junction  with  Sherman. 
Grant's  entire  army  was  thus  united  with  its  left  flank  in  firm 
possession  of  the  end  of  Missionary  Ridge,  threatening  Chick- 
amauga  Station  and  the  enemy's  rear,  the  center  holding 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  147 

Orchard  Knoll  and  the  strong  fortifications  of  Chattanooga, 
while  Hooker,  on  the  swinging  flank,  looked,  menacing  and 
secure,  from  the  heights  of  Lookout.  So  far,  not  a  single 
mishap  had  occurred.  Every  movement  had  been  made  with 
perfect  precision,  and  every  movement  was  entirely  success 
ful.  Grant  felt  confident  of  the  result  which  must  follow,  and 
issued  orders  for  the  renewal  of  the  action  at  early  dawn. 

Sherman  had  the  post  of  difficulty,  as  it  was  evident  the 
rebels  would  make  their  best  fight  in  his  front.  During  the 
night  he  had  strengthened  his  position,  and  gathered  his  forces 
for  an  early  attack,  upon  the  heavily  wooded  ridges  before 
him.  The  rebel  General  had  not  been  idle,  but  seeing  the 
full  measure  of  his  danger  had  strongly  re-enforced  his  right. 
All  night  long  the  sound  of  falling  trees  betokened  his  activity 
in  the  construction  of  breastworks  and  rifle  trench.  The 
ground  separating  Sherman  from  the  enemy's  right  was 
heavily  wooded,  and  much  broken  by  tranverse  ridges  and 
ravines,  almost  as  susceptible  of  defense  as  the  front  face  of 
the  main  ridge  itself.  Sherman  examined  it  carefully  in  per 
son.  It  was  already  sunrise  before  his  bugles  sounded  for 
ward.  The  main  attack  was  made  by  the  Fortieth  Illinois, 
Forty-sixth  Ohio,  and  Twentieth  Ohio,  of  Corse's  brigade, 
Ewing's  division,  led  by  Corse  in  person,  with  his  usual  in 
trepidity  ;  and  although  pressed  with  great  determination, 
it  was  unsuccessful  in  breaking  the  enemy's  line.  Corse  was 
severely  wounded,  and  carried  from  the  field.  His  place  was 
filled  by  Colonel  Wolcott  of  the  Forty-sixth  Ohio.  Loomis' 
brigade  on  the  right,  Rannis'  and  Mathias'  brigades  of  John 
E.  Smith's  division ;  Morgan  L.  Smith's  division,  Bushbeck's 
brigade  of  Howard's  corps,  and,  in  fact,  Sherman's  entire 
force,  pressed  forward  at  the  same  time,  continuing  the  action 
hotly  till  the  middle  of  the  afternoon ;  and  although  they 
gained  much  ground,  they  could  not  drive  the  enemy  from 
his  stronghold.  Artillery  was  freely  used  on  both  sides. 
Sherman  pressed  his  attack  so  closely  and  incessantly  that 
Bragg  gradually  massed  the  bulk  of  his  forces  for  the  defense 
of  his  right.  Grant  anxiously  watched  the  progress  of  the  bat- 


148  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

tie  from  Orchard  Knoll,  over  two  miles  away,  waiting  for  the 
signs  of  success  before  ordering  Thomas  to  advance.  He  saw 
plainly  the  continuous  movement  of  the  rebels  in  that  direction 
along  the  crest  above  him,  and  at  three  o'clock  witnessed 
the  repulse  of  Sherman's  right,  under  John  E.  Smith.  Mean 
while  Hooker  had  descended  from  the  top  of  Lookout,  and 
was  well  on  his  way  towards  the  extreme  left  of  Bragg's  line. 
The  time  had  come  for  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  to  be 
revenged  for  the  defeat  of  Chickamauga.  Turning  to  Thomas, 
who  had  also  been  anxiously  watching  the  events  of  the  battle, 
Grant  ordered  him  to  attack.  Six  guns  were  fired  in  rapid 
succession  from  Orchard  Knoll  as  a  signal  for  the  advance, 
and  promptly  the  eager  troops  who  had  so  long  been  strain 
ing  at  the  leash,  sprang  forward,  arrayed  in  splendid  order,  and 
covered  by  a  heavy  cloud  of  skirmishers.  Baird  on  the  left, 
Wood  and  Sheridan  *  in  the  centre,  Johnson  on  the  right, 
and,  still  further  to  the  right,  Hooker,  with  Geary  and  Oster- 
haus,  led  their  gallant  volunteers  intrepidly  to  the  assault. 
The  rebel  rifle-pits,  the  special  object  of  their  attack,  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  were  carried  like  a  flash,  and  yet  eight  hun 
dred  feet  above  stood  the  main  rebel  line  pouring  forth  a 
deadly  fire  of  musketry  and  artillery.  With  one  of  those 
wild  and  unaccountable  impulses  originating  in  the  native 
sagacity  of  men  and  officers  alike,  the  national  soldiers,  by 
regiment,  brigade  and  division,  rushed  forward  to  the  heights, 
pausing  only  now  and  then  to  regain  their  breath,  and  then 
to  dash  on  again  with  renewed  vigor.  Clambering  over  rocks 
and  through  bushes,  lifting  themselves  by  thrusting  their  bayo 
nets  into  the  ground,  or  by  catching  hold  of  limbs  and  twigs, 
they  finally  reached  the  crest  and  swept  the  rebel  lines  away 
like  chaff  before  the  whirlwind.  Baird  turned  towards  Sher 
man,  Sheridan  pressed  straight  forward  towards  the  Chicka 
mauga,  and  Hooker  swept  along  the  crest  towards  the  center. 

*  During  the  momentary  pause  after  carrying  the  rifle-pits,  Sheridan  rode 
to  the  front,  bowed  to  the  rebels,  took  out  his  flask,  and  raised  it  to  his  lips. 
The  rebels,  only  a  few  hundred  yards  away,  saw  him  plainly,  ceased  firing  for 
the  moment,  and  cheered  him  lustily. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  149 

Nothing  could  stay  these  converging  and  exultant  columns. 
The  rebels  were  routed  and  driven  entirely  from  the  field, 
never  stopping  till  they  had  passed  Chickamauga  Creek. 
Grant  seeing  his  gallant  soldiers  clambering  up  the  mountain 
side,  could  restrain  himself  no  longer ;  turning  to  Granger 
who  had  been  wasting  his  time  with  a  battery  of  artillery,  he 
ordered  him  with  energy  to  join  his  corps,  and  then  attended 
by  his  staff  galloped  rapidly  to  the  front.  Ascending  the 
ridge,  he  was  hailed  by  the  wounded,  forgetful  of  their  bloody 
faces  and  broken  limbs,  with  acclamations  of  delight :  "We've 
gained  the  day,  General ; "  "  All  we  wanted  was  a  leader ; " 
"  We  are  even  with  them  now  for  Chickamauga!"  But  Grant 
pressed  on  to  the  very  front,  exposing  himself  fearlessly  to 
the  heaviest  fire  of  the  enemy.  He  wished  to  see  for  himself 
that  the  victory  was  complete.  Darkness  soon  put  an  end  to 
the  general  pursuit,  though  Sheridan  continued  it  as  far  as 
the  Chickamauga,  guided  by  the  fire  of  his  own  and  the 
enemy's  rifles,  taking  prisoners  and  harassing  the  rebels  till 
after  midnight. 

Grant  informed  Halleck  of  his  success  in  the  following  terms : 
"Although  the  battle  lasted  from  early  dawn  till  dark  this 
evening,  I  believe  I  am  not  premature  in  announcing  a  com 
plete  victory  over  Bragg." 

The  pursuit  was  renewed  by  the  army  at  an  early  hour  the 
next  day ;  Sherman  marching  by  the  way  of  Chickamauga 
Station ;  Hooker  and  Palmer  by  the  Eossville  road  towards 
Ringgold  and  Dalton.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  Hooker  came 
up  with  the  rear  guard  of  the  rebel  army  under  Cleburne, 
strongly  posted  in  the  gorge  of  White  Oak  Kidge,  and  along 
the  crest  of  Taylor's  Ridge,  twenty-two  miles  from  Chatta 
nooga,  and  after  a  gallant  attack,  received  a  bloody  check ; 
but  this  was  only  temporary.  The  rebels  continued  their 
retreat  as  far  as  Dalton,  where  they  halted,  and  took  up  a 
strong  position.  Grant's  army  had  not  yet  re-established  its 
transportation,  and  was  too  weak  in  the  means  of  moving  its 
artillery  to  continue  the  campaign.  The  rebels  had  burned 
the  railroad  bridges  and  withdrawn  all  their  cars,  and  Grant 


150  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

had  none  nearer  than  Bridgeport,  in  Alabama,  with  no  means 
of  getting  them  across  the  Tennessee,  or  the  great  gorge  in 
the  Raccoon  mountains  at  Whiteside ;  the  country  had  al 
ready  been  stripped  of  its  scanty  supplies ;  it  was  therefore 
entirely  out  of  the  question  to  think  of  subsisting  his  army, 
even  a  day's  march  from  Chattanooga.  Then,  too,  Burnside 
was  still  in  imminent  and  increasing  danger.  He  had  already 
been  shut  up  in  Knoxville,  and  had  informed  Grant  that 
his  supplies  were  limited,  and  that  he  could  not  possibly  hold 
out  longer  than  ten  or  twelve  days.  Under  these  circum 
stances  Grant  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  suspend  further 
pursuit  of  Bragg's  demoralized  army,  to  withdraw  Thomas 
into  Chattanooga,  and  to  send  Sherman,  with  a  larger  force, 
to  raise  the  siege  of  Knoxville. 

The  battle  of  Chattanooga,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
in  history,  and  reflects  infinite  credit  upon  Grant's  general 
ship,  as  well  as  upon  the  good  management  of  his  subordi 
nates,  and  the  courage  and  endurance  of  the  men  composing 
the  army.  The  precision  and  promptitude  with  which  every 
movement  was  carried  out,  from  that  against  the  rebels  in 
Lookout  Valley  to  the  final  assault  of  the  rebel  center  on 
Missionary  Ridge,  are  models  for  future  Generals  to  imitate. 
The  assault  of  Lookout,  the  passage  of  the  Tennessee,  and 
the  lodgment  upon  the  enemy's  flank, — all  necessary  prelim 
inaries  to  the  final  assault, — were  combined  and  conducted 
with  the  regularity  of  clock-work.  Grant  was  nobly  sec 
onded  by  Sherman,  Thomas,  Hooker,  and  his  own  staff,  as 
well  as  by  a  splendid  array  of  subordinate  commanders ;  but 
it  is  only  just  to  add  that  his  own  capacity,  courage,  and 
magnanimity,  have  secured  for  him  the  chief  honor  of  that 
glorious  triumph. 

Bragg's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  during  this  battle,  is 
not  known,  but  could  not  have  been  less  than  10,000,  all  told, 
as  he  left  6,142  prisoners,  with  7,000  small  arms,  40  guns,  and 
many  colors,  in  the  hands  of  the  victors.  Grant's  losses,  ex 
clusive  of  Burnside's  in  East  Tennessee,  as  derived  from  the 
reports  of  the  corps  commanders,  were  6,804  killed,  wounded 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  151 

and  missing.  As  usual  with  the  rebels,  notwithstanding  their 
great  advantage  in  position,  they  claimed  to  have  lost  the  bat 
tle  by  being  largely  outnumbered,  but  if  this  was  true  it  was 
due  again  to  Grant's  superior  generalship.  There  is  no  surer 
way,  all  other  things  being  favorable,  to  conduct  war  success 
fully  than  by  managing  so  as  to  outnumber  the  enemy,  at  the 
vital  point  during  the  hour  of  battle. 


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CHATTANOOGA,  KNOXVILLE,  ATLANTA. 


CHAPTEE   XVII. 

LONGSTREET  INVADES  EAST  TENNESSEE  —  BURNSIDE  ATTACKS  HIM 
NEAR  LOUDON — AFFAIRS  AT  CAMPBELL'S  STATION — CAVALRY  FIGHT 
NEAR  KNOXVILLE — KNOXVILLE  BESIEGED — ASSAULT  ON  FORT  SAN 
DERS — REBELS  REPULSED — GRANGER  AND  SHERMAN  ORDERED  TO 
KNOXVILLE — SIEGE  RAISED — SHERMAN  RETURNS  TO  CHATTANOOGA 
— BURNSIDE  RELIEVED — FOSTER  TAKES  COMMAND  —  OPERATIONS 
SUSPENDED  BY  COLD  WEATHER — REJOICING  FOR  VICTORY  AT  CHAT 
TANOOGA — CONGRESS  VOTES  GRANT  A  GOLD  MEDAL — MOVEMENT 
TO  REVIVE  THE  GRADE  OF  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 

As  before  stated,  Longstreet,  who  had  been  detached  from 
Bragg's  army  before  the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  marched 
leisurely  into  East  Tennessee ;  his  object  being  to  drive  out 
Burnside,  to  repossess  the  fertile  vallies  of  that  region,  and 
to  bring  again  under  rebel  sway,  its  patriotic  and  Union- 
loving  citizens.  He  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  Loudon,  on 
the  14th  of  November,  and  immediately  took  up  his  march 
towards  Knoxville.  Burnside  had,  in  the  meantime,  been 
instructed  to  concentrate  his  forces  in  front  of  the  enemy, 
and  retard  his  progress  in  every  possible  way,  without  jeop 
arding  the  safety  of  his  own  command.  The  main  body  of 
his  army,  (not  over  12,000  strong,)  was  then  at  Lenoir's 
Station,  a  few  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Holston,  where, 
under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Babcock,  it  had 
built  an  excellent  pontoon  bridge,  and  was  thus  enabled  to 
move  in  any  direction.  When  it  became  positively  known 
that  Longstreet  was  advancing,  Burnside  ordered  the  de 
struction  of  the  bridge,  and  prepared  for  battle ;  assuming 
command  in  person,  he  marched  from  Lenoir's,  and  attacked 
the  rebel  advanced  forces,  giving  them  a  sharp  and  decided 


154  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

check.  He  then  fell  back  slowly  along  the  main  road  to 
Knoxville.  Selecting  a  strong  position  at  Campbell's  Sta 
tion,  he  formed  his  little  army  and  waited  for  the  attack. 
The  rebels  soon  closed  upon  him,  but  were  again  brought  to 
a  stand,  suffering  severe  loss  in  every  effort  to  dislodge  him. 
But  it  was  not  Burnside's  object  to  do  more  than  delay  and 
cripple  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  He  had  been  cautioned 
particularly  not  to  hazard  the  loss  of  his  army,  nor  to  jeopard 
the  safety  of  Knoxville,  by  a  decided  battle  in  the  open  field ; 
he  therefore  withdrew  to  the  fortifications  of  the  city,  already 
prepared  and  provisioned  as  well  as  circumstances  would  per 
mit,  to  receive  his  forces.  His  cavalry,  under  General  San 
ders,  (a  promising  and  zealous  officer,)  had  anticipated  the 
movements  of  the  rebel  cavalry  under  Wheeler,  and  by  a 
well  delivered  battle,  in  which  Sanders  was  mortally  wounded, 
had  frustrated  the  attempt  to  take  Knoxville  by  a  coup  de 
main. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  Longstreet  arrived  in  front  of 
the  place,  and  on  the  18th  made  a  complete  investment  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Holston,  but  found  the  city  too  well  manned 
and  too  strongly  fortified  to  venture  at  once  upon  an  assault. 
After  some  desultory  fighting,  he  therefore  determined  to 
starve  it  out.  He  was  soon  afterwards  re-enforced  by  Jones, 
and  one  or  two  small  commands  from  Virginia,  and  made  a 
disposition  of  his  forces  with  the  view  of  cutting  off  Burn- 
side's  supplies.  In  this  process,  which  required  time,  he  was 
rudely  interrupted  by  the  intelligence  of  Bragg's  defeat.  He 
was  too  good  a  General  to  waste  more  time  in  perfecting  the 
starvation  process,  and  immediately  decided  to  venture  alone 
upon  an  assault  of  the  fortifications.  Accordingly,  on  the 
morning  of  the  29th,  he  threw  three  brigades  of  McLaw's 
division  with  terrible  energy  upon  Fort  Sanders,  near  the 
north-western  angle  of  Burnside's  works,  supporting  them 
with  the  rest  of  his  force.  They  rushed  up  the  heights, 
through  the  entanglements,  into  the  ditches,  and  finally  reached 
the  parapet,  but  could  go  no  further.  The  fort  was  held  by 
Benjamin's  regular  battery  of  twenty-pounder  parrots,  sup- 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  155 

ported  by  the  Seventy-ninth  New  York,  Twenty-ninth  Massa 
chusetts,  and  detachments  from  the  Second  New  York  and  the 
Twentieth  Michigan.  Every  man  did  his  duty  nobly;  the 
double-shotted  guns  were  served  with  great  precision  and 
coolness  by  their  gallant  young  commander;  lighted  shells 
were  thrown  into  the  ditches  as  hand  grenades,  and  the  in 
fantry  poured  out  a  deadly  and  incessant  fire.  The  rebels 
were  repulsed  again  and  again,  and  finally  driven  from  the 
hill  entirely,  leaving  the  ditch  filled  with  killed  and  wounded, 
besides  many  who  would  not  risk  the  almost  certain  death  of 
retreating  under  the  infernal  fire  through  which  they  had  ad 
vanced.  Longstreet's  repulse  cost  him  a  thousand  men,  and 
gained  him  nothing  whatever. 

Immediately  after  the  victory  at  Chattanooga,  Grant  or 
dered  General  Gordon  Granger,  with  the  Fourth  corps,  and 
detachments  from  the  rest  of  the  army,  sufficient  to  bring  the 
strength  of  his  command  to  20,000  muskets,  to  march  rapidly 
to  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered  garrison  at  Knoxville ;  but 
that  officer,  who  had  been  selected  out  of  compliment  to  his 
behavior  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  raised  so  many  objec 
tions,  and  lost  so  much  time  in  preparations,  that  Grant,  in 
order  to  make  sure,  also  directed  Sherman  to  go  with  the 
Eleventh  and  Fifteenth  corps.  Elliott,  commanding  Thomas' 
cavalry  in  Central  Tennessee,  was  instructed  at  the  same  time 
to  march  rapidly  into  East  Tennessee  by  the  nearest  route. 
Sherman,  who  was  then  at  Cleveland,  pusned  forward  with 
great  celerity  by  the  way  of  Philadelphia,  Morgantown  and 
Marysville,  repairing  the  railroad  bridge  across  the  Hiawassee, 
and  bridging  the  little  Tennessee  in  two  places.  One  of  these 
bridges,  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  length,  was  constructed 
of  timber  obtained  by  tearing  down  houses  in  Morgantown, 
while  the  other  was  made  by  running  wagons  into  the  river, 
and  building  a  roadway  resting  upon  them.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  as  has  been  seen,  Longstreet  had  been  repulsed,  and 
hearing  of  Sherman's  and  Granger's  movements,  there  was 
nothing  left  for  him  but  to  retire  as  rapidly  as  possible,  march 
ing  towards  Western  Virginia. 


156  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Sherman's  advance  arrived  at  Knoxville  on  the  morning  of 
December  4th,  and  Sherman  himself  was  there  on  the  5th, 
leaving  his  army  in  the  neighborhood  of  Marysville.  Gran 
ger  arrived  shortly  afterwards.  Grant's  instructions  required 
the  total  destruction  of  Longstreet's  force,  or  that  he  should 
be  expelled  at  once  and  for  good  from  East  Tennessee.  Burn- 
side,  however,  being  in  command  of  the  Department,  Sher 
man  submitted  the  whole  matter  for  his  disposition,  offering 
his  troops  and  volunteering  to  go  wherever  it  might  be 
thought  necessary.  The  former  felt  himself  amply  strong 
enough,  with  Granger's  corps,  to  do  all  the  remaining  work 
of  the  campaign,  and  therefore  permitted  Sherman  to  return 
towards  Chattanooga.  A  few  days  thereafter,  Burnside  was 
relieved  by  order  of  General  Halleck,  the  General-in-Chief, 
and  General  J.  G.  Foster  took  his  place.  Cold  weather  set 
in  shortly  afterwards,  and  many  of  the  troops  being  almost 
barefoot  and  poorly  clad,  the  movement  was  suspended,  in 
the  neigborhood  of  Strawberry  Plains  and  Dandridge.  No 
serious  fighting  took  place  in  that  region  during  winter. 
Longstreet  rejoined  the  army  under  Lee,  in  the  spring. 

Sherman,  withdrawing  by  slow  marches  from  East  Tennes 
see,  passed  through  Chattanooga,  and  was  for  awhile  charged 
with  the  defense  of  the  frontier,  extending  from  that  place 
towards  Huntsville,  in  Northern  Alabama.  Late  in  January, 
1864,  Grant  sent  him  to  Vicksburg,  for  the  purpose  of  mak 
ing  an  expedition  from  that  point  towards  Meridian  and 
Mobile.  Thomas  was  charged  with  watching  the  rebel  army 
at  Dalton,  now  temporarily  under  Hardee,  and  with  the  re- 
equipment  of  his  own  army,  for  the  spring  campaign. 

The  news  of  the  splendid  victory  at  Chattanooga,  followed 
as  it  was  by  that  at  Knoxville,  filled  the  loyal  States  with  re 
joicing.  Mr.  Lincoln  appointed  a  day  of  thanksgiving  "for 
this  great  advancement  of  the  national  cause ; "  while  Con 
gress,  in  grateful  appreciation  of  the  glorious  victories  he  had 
gained,  passed  a  joint  resolution  of  thanks  to  General  Grant 
and  the  troops  which  had  fought  under  him.  They  also  or 
dered  a  gold  medal,  with  suitable  emblems  and  devices,  to  be 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  157 

struck  and  presented  to  him,  and  Legislatures  of  various  States 
presented  him  with  a  vote  of  thanks.  But,  better  than  all 
this,  a  movement  was  at  once  set  on  foot  by  the  Hon.  E.  B. 
Washburne,  Member  of  Congress  from  Illinois,  to  revive  the 
grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  and  to  call  General  Grant  to  the 
chief  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  This 
measure  did  not  pass  at  once,  but  it  was  founded  upon  a  just 
appreciation  of  what  the  exigency  in  military  affairs  required. 
The  careful  student  of  history  will  have  seen  how  great 
victories  had  been  won  in  the  South-west  by  the  concentra 
tion  of  great  armies,  and  by  bringing  them  to  operate  in  con 
cert  and  under  the  leadership  of  one  clear-headed,  fearless, 
and  faithful  commander.  Hitherto  the  Government  had  not 
found  a  military  chieftain  by  whose  counsels  it  was  willing 
to  be  guided.  McClellan  had  promised  much  and  accom 
plished  little.  Halleck,  who  was  called  to  his  place,  was  well 
meaning,  but  incapable.  The  President  was  earnest,  thought 
ful,  sagacious  and  far-reaching  in  his  judgment ;  but  he  was 
too  cautious  to  entrust  the  unlimited  control  of  military  op 
eration  to  the  hands  of  those  about  him.  None  of  his  subor 
dinates,  except  Grant,  had  yet  been  so  uniformly  successful 
as  to  become  entitled  to  unquestioning  confidence.  Neither 
had  the  President  learned  that  the  true  province  of  the  civil 
government  was  to  provide  the  sinews  of  war — to  select  the 
ablest  General,  and  to  leave  him  free  to  control  the  armies, 
according  to  the  true  principles  of  warfare.  Mr.  Stanton,  the 
able  Secretary  of  "War,  appreciated  this  truth  at  an  early  day, 
and  bent  all  his  wonderful  energy  to  carrying  it  into  effect ; 
but  to  Mr.  Washburne,  more  than  to  any  one  else  in  high 
position,  is  due  the  credit  of  bringing  the  Government  to 
its  final  adoption.  Fortunately  he  persisted  in  the  advocacy 
of  the  bill  reviving  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  until 
Congress,  as  well  as  the  entire  country,  became  convinced  that 
nothing  else  but  that  measure,  or  its  equivalent, — the  placing 
of  Grant  in  supreme  control  of  the  army,  subject  only  to  the 
President,  his  constitutional  commander, — could  carry  the  war 
for  the  stability  of  the  Union  to  a  successful  termination. 


CHAPTEK    XVIII. 

GRANT  GOES  TO  NASHVILLE  TO  PERFECT  MEANS  OF  SUPPLYING  THE 
ARMIES — RE-ESTABLISHMENT  OF  RAILROAD  LINES — GOES  TO  KNOX- 
VILLE — INSPECTS  CUMBERLAND  GAP — CROSSES  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO 
LEXINGTON — HARDSHIPS  AND  EXPOSURE — RETURNS  TO  NASHVILLE 
— PLANS  FOR  FUTURE  OPERATIONS — SHERMAN'S  RAID  TO  MERID 
IAN —  DESTRUCTION  OF  RAILROADS  —  FAILURE  OF  CAVALRY  TO 
JOIN  HIM — BANKS  NOT  PERMITTED  TO  CO-OPERATE — GRANT  CALLED 
TO  WASHINGTON. 

As  soon  as  the  Chattanooga  campaign  was  terminated, 
Grant  set  about  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his 
vast  military  division  extending  from  the  Mississippi  River 
on  the  west,  and  the  Ohio  on  the  north,  to  the  borders  of 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  on  the  east,  and  as  far 
southward  as  he  might  be  able  to  carry  his  armies.  His 
first  task  was  to  supply  and  consolidate  his  forces,  so  as  to 
make  sure  of  all  that  had  been  gained,  and  to  prepare  for 
new  conquests.  Early  in  December,  he  went  to  Nashville 
to  inspect  and  perfect  the  arrangements  for  forwarding  sup 
plies.  The  army  in  Northern  Georgia  depended  entirely 
upon  the  railroads  leading  southward  through  Tennessee  for 
the  transportation  of.  its  military  stores.  The  Louisville  and 
Nashville  Eailroad  was  also  a  necessary  link  in  his  communi 
cations  with  the  North,  and  as  it  had  fallen  into  bad  manage 
ment,  a  thorough  reorganization  became  necessary.  It  was 
claimed  by  the  persons  controlling  the  roads,  that  they  were 
already  taxed  to  their  utmost,  but  this  was  not  true.  Grant 
removed  the  military  superintendent,  and  replaced  him  by  an 
abler  man.  He  also  directed  General  Thomas  to  have  the 
Nashville  and  Decatur  road  repaired  to  Decatur,  and  the 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.    GKANT.  159 

Memphis  and  Charleston  road,  from  Decatur  to  Stevenson ; 
thus  giving  two  lines  instead  of  one  from  Nashville  to  Bridge 
port.  The  roads  in  East  Tennessee  were  likewise  rebuilt,  and 
every  encouragement  was  given  to  the  authorities  charged 
with  the  completion  of  the  Nashville  and  Johnson ville  road. 
But  the  process  of  building  bridges,  of  which  there  were 
many,  some  of  them  very  extensive,  and  of  repairing  tracks  and 
gathering  locomotives  and  cars,  was  by  no  means  an  easy  or 
rapid  one.  Having  done  all  he  could  to  get  these  matters 
into  propei*  hands,  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  Grant 
returned  to  Chattanooga,  where  he  was  chagrined  to  learn 
that  operations  against  Longstreet  in  East  Tennessee  had 
been  suspended,  and  that  instead  of  being  far  up  the  valley 
towards  Virginia,  Granger  was  in  Knoxville,  boasting  that  he 
could  hold  that  place  against  all  sorts  of  impossible  combina 
tions,  natural  and  supernatural.  As  a  matter  of  course,  Grant 
lost  no  time  in  hurrying  to  Knoxville.  Accompanied  by  his 
staff  and  a  few  orderlies,  he  took  passage  to  Loudon  on  a  steam 
boat,  which  had  been  built  by  the  soldiers.  From  Loudon  he 
went  to  Knoxville  by  rail,  arriving  there  on  the  4th  of  Janu 
ary.  After  an  interview  with  General  Foster,  whom  he  found 
suffering  from  an  old  wound  received  in  Mexico,  he  went 
on  to  Strawberry  Plains.  In  the  meantime,  intensely  cold 
weather  had  set  in,  and  as  the  troops  had  not  yet  been  prop 
erly  supplied  with  clothing  and  shoes,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
communication  with  Kentucky  by  wagon  was  almost  entirely 
out  of  the  question,  and  railroad  communication  by  the  way 
of  Chattanooga  had  not  yet  been  re-established,  it  was  ap 
parent  that  active  operations  could  not  be  resumed  without 
inflicting  great  suffering  on  the  army.  The  rebel  cavalry 
were  making  occasional  dashes  upon  the  outposts,  and  some 
desultory  fighting  took  plSce  at  intervals,  as  the  weather 
would  permit ;  but  seeing  that  no  general  engagement  could 
be  fought,  Grant  left  instructions  for  the  government  of 
the  department,  and  proceeded  on  horseback  to  Cumberland 
Gap.  After  inspecting  that  place,  he  crossed  the  mountains, 
and  rode  rapidly  to  Lexington,  Kentucky.  The  journey  made 


160  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

in  mid-winter  was  one  of  great  hardship  and  danger,  the 
passage  of  the  Cumberland  and  Wild  Cat  Mountains,  covered 
with  snow  and  ice,  being  especially  difficult  and  perilous. 
The  cold  for  several  days  was  ten  degrees  below  zero.  It 
was  impossible  to  ride  down  the  ice-covered  slopes  of  the 
mountain  ;  so  Grant  and  his  party  were  compelled  to  lead 
their  horses  and  walk.  The  General,  in  advance,  had  many 
falls  but  suffered  no  serious  injury.  At  Lexington  and  Frank 
fort  he  was  received  with  acclamations  of  joy,  and  urgent 
offers  of  hospitality,  but  he  refused  to  stop,  and  taking  the 
cars  hastened  to  Louisville,  and  thence  back  to  Nashville, 
where  he  established  the  head-quarters  of  the  Military  Di 
vision.  He  was  soon  afterwards  called  to  St.  Louis  for  a 
few  days,  by  the  dangerous  illness  of  one  of  his  children. 
Hurrying  through  the  country  in  the  modest  dress  of  a  citi 
zen,  he  studiously  avoided  all  public  ovations  and  display, 
and  as  soon  as  the  danger  which  threatened  his  son  had 
passed,  returned  in  the  same  manner  to  his  head-quarters. 
He  did  not  allow  himself  to  be  idle  for  a  day,  but  bent  all  his 
energies  and  ability  to  caring  for  his  command  and  devising 
new  plans  of  warfare  against  the  insurgent  forces.  Hitherto 
military  operations  in  the  West  and  South-west  had  been  con 
nected  independently  of  those  in  the  East ;  but  since  the  rebel 
Teritory  had  been  cut  in  twain  along  the  line  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  the  rebel  forces  had  been  pressed  back  into  the 
interior  of  Alabama  and  Georgia,  and  to  the  east  side  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  it  became  a  matter  of  vital  importance  that  there 
should  henceforth  be  a  unity  of  plan,  and  effective  co-opera 
tion  between  the  armies  under  Grant  and  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  To  this  end  he  studied  the  military  situation  in  all 
its  aspects  with  profound  attention,  making  such  suggestions 
to  the  Government  as  circumsta'nces  seemed  to  justify.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  the  idea  of  severing  the  rebel  terri 
tory  again,  by  conducting  a  campaign  from  Chattanooga  to 
the  sea-coast  first  presented  itself  to  his  mind.  But  before 
putting  it  into  execution,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  thor 
oughly  repossess  Alabama,  particularly  Mobile  and  Mont- 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  161 

gomery.  Sherman  was,  therefore,  sent  to  Yicksburg  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  an  expedition  to  be  composed  of  the 
forces  serving  along  the  Mississippi  River,  with  which  to 
operate  towards  ]\leridian,  while  Halleck  was  counseled  to 
send  Banks  with  all  his  forces  against  Mobile. 

In  pursuance  of  this  general  plan,  and  also  for  the  better 
protection  of  the  various  important  points  along  the  Missis 
sippi  River,  Sherman  moved  from  Vicksburg,  on  the  3d  of 
February,  with  two  divisions  of  the  Sixteenth  corps,  under 
Hurlbut,  two  of  the  Seventeenth  corps,  under  McPherson, 
and  a  brigade  of  cavalry  under  Colonel  Winslow,  of  the 
Fourth  Iowa  Cavalry.  General  William  S§$y  Smith,  Grant's 
Chief  of  Cavalry,  was  also  ordered  to  assemble  all  the  avail 
able  troops  of  that  arm  in  West  Tennessee,  and  to  march  from 
Memphis  at  the  same  time,  sweeping  down  through  Northern 
Mississippi,  and  joining  Sherman  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Meridian.  Sherman  moved  in  two  columns,  and  although 
confronted  by  Loring,  French,  and  S.  D.  Lee,  with  a  consid 
erable  force  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  he  drove  them  rapidly 
back,  entered  Jackson  on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  crossed  the 
Pearl  River  the  next  day,  and  continued  his  rapid  march  to 
wards  Meridian,  pausing  only  to  build  bridges  or  remove  ob 
structions  from  the  roads,  and  to  destroy  the  railroad.  He 
entered  Meridian  on  the  14th,  that  place  having  been  evacua 
ted  the  night  before  by  the  Confederate  troops  under  Polk  in 
person.  Sherman  now  halted  his  command,  and  after  two 
day's  rest,  sent  it  out  in  all  directions  for  the  purpose  of  break 
ing  up  the  railroads  crossing  at  that  place:  "The  depots, 
store-houses,  arsenals,  officers'  hospitals,  hotels,  and  canton 
ments  in  the  town,  were  burned ;  and  during  the  next  five 
days,  with  axes,  sledges,  crow-bars,  claw-bars,  and  fire,  Hurl- 
but's  corps  destroyed,  on  the  north  and  east,  60  miles  of 
ties  and  iron,  1  locomotive,  and  8  bridges;  and  McPher- 
son's  corps,  on  the  south  and  west,  55  miles  of  railroad,  53 
bridges,  6,075  feet  of  trestle-work,  19  locomotives,  28  steam 
cars,  and  3  saw-mills.  Thus  was  completed  the  destruction 

of  the  railways  for  one  hundred  miles  from  Jackson  to  Merid- 
11 


162  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRAKT. 

ian,  and  for  twenty  miles  around  the  latter  place,  in  so  effect 
ual  a  manner  that  they  could  not  be  used  against  us  in  the 
approaching  campaigns."*  The  rebels,  in  the  meantime, had 
received  re-enforcements,  and  on  the  17th  recrossed  the  Tom- 
bigbee,  moving  towards  Meridian.  Sherman  at  once  concen 
trated  his  command,  and  as  Smith  with  the  cavalry  had  not 
yet  made  his  appearance,  he  thought  it  prudent  to  withdraw. 
This  he  did  on  the  20th,  sending  McPherson  on  the  direct 
road  to  Jackson,  and  with  Hurlbut  and  Winslow  moved 
to\vards  the  North  for  the  purpose  of  looking  for  the  cavalry. 
Making  a  wide  detour  without  finding  it,  he  recros&ed  the 
Pearl  River  and  concentrated  his  forces  at  Canton. 

Smith  did  not  leave  Memphis  till  the  llth  of  February ; 
and  although  he  had  a  force  .of  eight  thousand  well  mounted 
and  equipped  cavalry,  he  succeeded  in  getting  no  farther 
towards  Meridian  than  West  Point,  in  Mississippi,  from  which 
place  he  rapidly  retreated,  closely  followed  by  Forrest,  on  the 
22d.  Banks  had  not  been  allowed,  as  Grant  recommended, 
to  operate  against  Mobile ;  but  in  pursuance  of  a  mistaken 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  was  shortly  afterwards 
sent  against  the  rebels  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Sherman's 
campaign,  therefore,  became  nothing  but  an  extensive  raid  in 
stead  of  being  made,  as  it  should  have  been,  the  means  of 
taking  Mobile  and  re-establishing  the  national  control  over 
both  Mississippi  and  Alabama. 

With  this  raid,  Grant's  immediate  supervision  of  military 
operations  in  the  South-west  terminated.  He  was  shortly 
afterwards  called  to  the  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the 
United  States,  with  ample  authority  to  carry  on  the  war  in 
accordance  with  the  principle  which  had  so  far  given  us  our 
only  substantial  victories,  namely :  that  of  concentration 
against  the  detachments  of  the  enemy. 

*"  Sherman  and  his  Campaigns,"  p.  161. 


CHAPTEE    XIX. 

GRADE  OF  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  REVIVED  —  GRANT  ORDERED  TO 
WASHINGTON — HIS  LETTER  TO  SHERMAN  AND  M'PHERSON — SHER- 
MAN'S  REPLY — ADVISES  GRANT  TO  RETURN  TO  THE  WEST — GRANT 

ARRIVES  AT  WASHINGTON  —  RECEIVES  HIS  COMMISSION  —  THE 
PRESIDENT'S  SPEECH — GRANT'S  REPLY — VISITS  THE  ARMY  OF  THE 

POTOMAC — RETURNS  TO  NASHVILLE — ASSUMES  COMMAND  OF  THE 
ARMIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES — JOINS  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTO 
MAC — REORGANIZATION  OF  ARMY  AND  STAFF — CHIVALRIC  CON 
DUCT — REFLECTIONS. 

ON  the  1st  of  March,  1864,  the  bill  reviving  the  grade  of 
Lieutenant-General  in  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  be 
came  a  law,  by  the  approval  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  As  has  been 
shown,  it  had  its  origin  in  the  desire  expressed  by  far-seeing 
statesmen,  to  confer  the  actual  control  of  military  operations 
solely  upon  General  Grant ;  and  it  received  its  warmest  sup 
port  from  those  who  believed  that  nothing  less  than  this 
measure  would  enable  the  Government  to  make  successful 
head  against  the  insurgent  Southerners.  Grant  had  so  far 
been  the  most  successful  General,  and  it  was  believed  that  his 
elevation  to  a  grade  above  all  the  rest,  would  give  him  a 
power  for  good,  which  he  could  not  otherwise  exert.  In 
order  to  make  sure  that  neither  Halleck  nor  any  one  else 
should  be  called  by  the  President  to  fill  the  new  office,  it  was 
moved  in  Congress  that  it  should  be  expressly  conferred  upon 
Grant ;  but  that  body  was  so  confident  that  no  one  else  would 
be  selected,  that  it  declined  to  accept  an  amendment  to  the  act, 
in  any  way  limiting  the  President's  power  of  nomination, 
though  a  resolution  requesting  Mr.  Lincoln  to  appoint  Grant, 
was  promptly  passed.  This  confidence  was  not  misplaced, 
for,  on  the  next  day,  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  to  the  Senate  the  nom- 


164  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GKANT. 

ination  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  to  be  Lieutenant-General.  The 
nomination  was  confirmed  at  once,  and  an  order  was  sent  di 
recting  Grant  to  repair  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  his  commission.  Before  leaving  Nashville  he  wrote 
to  Sherman,  his  faithful  Lieutenant : 

"  Whilst  I  have  been  eminently  successful  in  this  war,  in  at  least 
gaming  the  confidence  of  the  public,  no  one  feels  more  than  I  do  how 
much  of  this  success  is  due  to  the  energy,  skill,  and  the  harmonious 
putting  forth  of  that  energy  and  skill,  of  those  whom  it  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  have  occupying  subordinate  positions  under  me.  There 
are  many  officers  to  whom  these  remarks  are  applicable  to  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  proportionate  to  their  ability  as  soldiers  ;  but  what  I  want, 
is  to  express  my  thanks  to  you  and  McPherson  as  the  men  to  whom, 
above  all  others,  I  feel  indebted  for  whatever  I  have  had  of  success. 
How  far  your  advice  and  assistance  have  been  of  help  to  me,  you  know ; 
how  far  your  execution  of  whatever  has  been  given  you  to  do  entitles 
you  to  the  reward  I  am  receiving,  you  can  not  know  as  well  as  I.  I 
feel  all  the  gratitude  this  letter  would  express,  giving  it  the  most 
flattering  construction."  * 

This  letter  was  intended  as  much  for  McPherson  as  for 
Sherman,  and  while  it  reflects  the  highest  credit  upon  the 
magnanimous  heart  of  the  writer,  it  does  those  able  and  gal 
lant  Generals  no  more  than  simple  justice.  Grant  had  that 
about  him  which  drew  true  men  irresistibly  towards  him, 
causing  them  to  cheerfully  exert  their  entire  strength  in  the 
performance  of  the  duties  assigned  them.  No  man  was  ever 
more  devotedly  or  worthily  served  by  those  who  came  within 
his  immediate  influence,  and  no  man  ever  rewarded  merit 
more  unselfishly  or  promptly. 

Sherman,  in  replying  to  Grant's  letter,  says : 

"  You  do  yourself  injustice,  and  us  too  much  honor,  in  assigning  to 
us  too  large  a  share  of  the  merits  which  have  led  to  your  high  advance 
ment.  I  know  you  approve  the  friendship  I  have  ever  professed  to  you, 
and  will  permit  me  to  continue  as  heretofore,  to  manifest  it  on  all 
proper  occasions. 

"  You  are  now  Washington's  legitimate  successor,  and  occupy  a  posi 
tion  of  almost  dangerous  elevation ;  but  if  you  can  continue  as  heretofore, 
to  be  yourself,  simple,  honest  and  unpretending,  you  will  enjoy  through 

*  "  Sherman  and  his  Campaigns,  p.  106." 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GKANT.  165 

life  the  respect  and  love  of  friends  and  the  homage  of  millions  of  human 
beings,  that  will  award  you  a  large  share  in  securing  to  them  and  their 
descendants  a  government  of  law  and  stability. 

"  I  repeat,  you  do  McPherson  and  myself  too  much  honor.  At  Bel- 
mont  you  manifested  your  traits, — neither  of  us  being  near.  At  Don- 
elson,  also,  you  illustrated  your  whole  character.  I  was  not  near,  and 
McPherson  in  too  subordinate  a  capacity  to  influence  you. 

"  Until  you  had  won  Donelson,  I  confess  I  was  almost  cowed  by  the 
terrible  array  of  anarchical  elements  that  presented  themselves  at 
every  point ;  but  that  admitted  a  ray  of  light,  which  I  have  followed 
since. 

"  I  believe  you  are  as  brave,  patriotic  and  just  as  the  great  prototype, 
Washington  ;  as  unselfish,  kind-hearted  and  honest  as  a  man  should  be  ; 
but  the  chief  characteristic  is  the  simple  faith  in  success  you  have  si- 
ways  manifested,  which  I  can  liken  to  nothing  else  than  the  faith  the 
Christian  has  in  the  Saviour. 

"  This  faith  gave  you  victory  at  Shiloh  and  Vicksburg.  Also,  when 
you  have  completed  your  best  preparations,  you  go  into  battle  without 
hesitation,  as  at  Chattanooga, — no  doubts,  no  answers, — and  I  tell  you, 
it  was  this  that  made  us  act  with  confidence.  I  knew  wherever  I  was, 
that  you  thought  of  me  ;  and  if  I  got  in  a  tight  place  you  would  help 
me  out  if  alive. 

"  My  only  point  of  doubt  was  in  your  knowledge  of  grand  strategy, 
and  of  books  of  science  and  history  ;  but  I  confess  your  common  sense 
seems  to  have  supplied  all  these. 

"  Now  as  to  the  future.  Don't  stay  in  Washington.  Come  West ;  take 
to  yourself  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley.  Let  us  make  it  dead  sure  ;  and 
I  tell  you  the  Atlantic  slopes  and  Pacific  shores  will  follow  its  destiny 
as  sure  as  the  limbs  of  a  tree  live  or  die  with  the  main  trunk.  We  have 
done  much,  but  still  much  remains.  Time  and  time's  influences  are  with 
us.  We  could  almost  afford  to  sit  still  .and  let  these  influences  work. 
Here  lies  the  seat  of  coming  empire ;  and  from  the  West,  where  our 
task  is  done,  we  will  make  short  work  of  Charleston  and  Richmond, 
and  the  impoverished  coast  of  the  Atlantic."  * 

But  Grant  had  gone  to  Washington,  and  for  reasons  which 
will  be  explained  hereafter,  he  wisely  chose  to  cast  his  future 
fortunes  with  those  of  the  national  cause  in  the  East. 

On  the  8th  of  March  he  arrived  at  the  capital,  and  the 
next  day,  at  one  o'clock,  he  was  received  by  the  President  in 
the  Cabinet  Chamber.  The  different  Cabinet  officers,  Gen 
eral  Halleck,  and  a  few  other  persons  were  there  by  the 
*  "  Sherman  and  Ms  Campaigns." 


166  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

President's  invitation.  General  Grant  was  accompanied  by 
an  aid-de-camp,  Colonel  Comstock,  and  General  Rawlins,  his 
able  and  devoted  Chief-of- Staff,  and  after  being  introduced  to 
the  Cabinet  was  addressed  as  follows,  by  the  President : 

"  GENERAL  GRANT  :— The  expression  of  the  nation's  approbation  of 
what  you  have  already  done,  and  its  reliance  on  you  for  what  remains 
to  be  done  in  the  existing  great  struggle,  are  now  presented  with  this 
commission,  constituting  you  Lieutenant-General  in  the  Army  of  the 
United  States.  With  this  high  honor,  devolves  on  you  an  additional 
responsibility.  As  the  country  herein  trusts  you,  so,  under  God,  it  will 
sustain  you.  I  scarcely  need  to  add,  that  with  what  I  here  speak  for 
the  nation,  goes  my  own  hearty  personal  concurrence." 

General  Grant  replied  with  feeling  : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  : — I  accept  the  commission  with  gratitude  for  the 
high  honor  conferred.  With  the  aid  of  the  noble  armies  that  have 
fought  on  so  many  battle-fields  for  our  common  country,  it  will  be  my 
earnest  endeavor  not  to  disappoint  your  expectations.  I  feel  the  full 
weight  of  the  responsibilities  now  devolving  on  me  ;  and  I  know  that 
if  they  are  met,  it  will  be  due  to  those  armies,  and,  above  all,  to  the 
favor  of  that  Providence  which  leads  both  nations  and  men." 

The  next  day,  as  had  been  expected,  the  President  assigned 
the  new  Lieutenant-General  to  the  command  of  all  the  armies, 
with  his  head-quarters  in  the  field.  Grant  made  a  hurried 
trip  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Culpeper  Court  House, 
to  confer  with  General  Meajle,  and  then  returned  to  Nashville 
for  the  purpose  of  making  arrangements  to  enter  upon  the 
performance  of  the  duties  of  his  new  position.  Here,  on  the 
17th  day  of  March,  he  issued  his  order  assuming  command 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  announced  that  till 
further  notice  his-  head-quarters  would  be  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  At  his  request  the  Secretary  of  AYar  had  al 
ready  assigned  Sherman  to  the  Military  Division  of  the  "Mis 
sissippi,  including  the  Department  of  Arkansas  in  addition  to 
those  departments  already  within  it ;  McPherson  succeeded 
Sherman  in  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Tennes 
see  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  Halleck,  who  had  so  long 
filled  the  place  of  General-in-Chief,  was  relieved  from  that 
position.  He  was,  however,  soon  afterwards  assigned  to  duty 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GKANT.  167 

in  Washington  by  General  Grant  as  Chief-of-Staff  of  the 
Army,  for  which  position,  charged  with  the  details  of  mili 
tary  administration,  it  was  thought,  his  capacities  peculiarly 
fitted  him. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  Grant,  accompanied  by  his  family 
and  the  members  of  his  personal  staff,  arrived  at  Washington, 
and  on  the  next  day  he  took  actual  command, — his  first  act 
being  to  reorganize  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  by  consoli 
dating  it  into  three  corps, — to  be  known  thereafter  as  the 
Second,  Fifth,  and  Sixth,  to  be  commanded  respectively 
by  Major-Generals  Hancock,  Warren,  and  Sedgwick.  The 
Ninth  corps,  under  Burnside,  lately  from  East  Tennessee, 
had  been  reorganized  at  Annapolis,  and  was  added  to  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  acted  for  a  time  independently 
of  Meade,  on  account  of  Burnside's  older  commission.  Gen 
erals  Barlow,  Gibbon,  Birney,  J.  B.  Carr,  Wadsworth,  Craw 
ford,  Robinson,  Griffin,  Wright,  and  Prince,  commanded  di 
visions.  The  cavalry  of  the  army  was  consolidated  into  a 
corps  under  General  Sheridan,  with  Generals  Gregg,  Tor- 
bert,  and  Wilson,  commanding  divisions.  These  officers  had 
all  distinguished  themselves  in  the  war  and  were  selected  for 
their  services  and  their  zeal  in  the  national  cause. 

The  staff  organization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  re 
mained  unchanged  with  Brigadier-General  H.  J.  Hunt,  as 
Chief  of  Artillery;  Major  J.  C.  Duane,  Chief  of  Engineers; 
Brigadier-General  Rufus  In  galls,  Chief  Quartermaster.  Ma 
jor-General  A.  A.  Humphreys,  an  able  officer  of  Engineers, 
distinguished  also  as  a  division  commander,  was  Chief-of- 
Staff;  while  Brigadier-General  Seth  Williams  was  Adjutant- 
General. 

The  law  creating  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  enabled 
Grant  to  reorganize  his  own  staff  also.  General  Rawlins, 
his  constant  companion  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was 
retained  as  Chief-of-StafF,  and  Colonel  T.  S.  Bowers  as  Ad 
jutant-General;  Colonel  Wilson,  his  Inspector-General,  who 
had  been  promoted  to  be  Brigadier- General  after  Chattanooga, 
and  had  been  ordered  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  re- 


1G8  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

organizing  the  Cavalry  Bureau,  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  a  division  under  Sheridan.  His  place  on  the  staff  was 
filled  by  Colonel  Comstock  of  the  Engineer  corps;  Colonel 
Horace  Porter  and  Colonel  O.  E.  Babcock,  two  young  officers 
of  the  regular  army,  who  had  already  given  great  promise  of 
usefulness  and  ability,  were  designated  as  Aids-de-Camp ; 
while  Colonels  Adam  Badeau,  and  Ely  S.  Parker  (a  hereditary 
chief  of  the  Six  Nations),  were  assigned  as  Military  Secre 
taries.  These  officers  were  all  young  in  years,  but  old  in  ex 
perience,  having  served  with  marked  distinction  from  the  be 
ginning  of  the  rebellion.  Grant  had  always  had  great  faith 
in  young  men  for  war,  and  therefore  carefully  avoided  the  se 
lection  of  old  or  middle  aged  officers  for  service  near  him. 

The  conduct  of  Grant  in  assuming  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  against  the  advice  of  such  friends  as  Sherman, 
had  a  deeper  and  more  chivalric  significance  than  is  apparent 
at  the  first  glance  ;  for  while  it  was  "  of  itself  a  recognition  of 
that  primacy  of  interest  and  importance  which  belonged  to  that 
army,  but  which  appeared  for  awhile  to  have  passed  from  it 
to  its  more  fortunate  rival  in  the  western  theatre  of  opera 
tions,"  *  he  saw  with  the  intuitive  and  unerring  perception 
of  a  heroic  and  loyal  nature,  that  his  acceptance  of  the  Lieu 
tenant-Generalship  carried  with  it  the  inevitable  duty  of 
undertaking  to  "  overwhelm  the  foremost  army  of  the  Con 
federacy  under  the  Confederacy's  foremost  leader."  He  must 
have  felt  that  Congress  had  bestowed  upon  him  the  high  rank 
of  Lieuten ant-General,  and  clothed  him  with  its  ample  powers, 
the  better  to  prepare  him  for  a  trial  of  prowess  with  Lee  and 
the  army  under  his  command.  Lee's  soldiers  had  defeated 
McClellan,  Hooker  and  Burnside.  They  had  baffled  every 
effort  on  the  part  of  'Meade,  and  so  long  as  they  remained 
to  bar  the  road  to  Richmond  and  to  up*hold  the  rebel  cause, 
so  long  would  rebellion  continue  and  the  country  remain  di 
vided  against  itself.  Grant  saw  this  as  plainly  as  any  man 
could  see  it,  and  knew  that  he  could  no  more  decline  the  trial 
with  Lee,  without  injuring  his  fame  and  weakening  his  power 
*  "  Campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  p.  405. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  169 

to  command,  than  the  country  could  afford  to  allow  its  life- 
blood  and  treasure  to  be  fruitlessly  wasted  at  the  hands  of  in 
competent  and  irresolute  Generals.  He  realized  too  truly  the 
significance  of  his  new  rank,  and  the  task  imposed  upon  him 
by  his  countrymen,  to  permit  himself  to  be  turned  from  this 
duty  either  by  the  difficulties  and  dangers  attending  it,  or  the 
solicitations  of  devoted  but  misjudging  friends. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  GENERAL  GRANT'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT — THE  EASTERN 
THEATER  OF  OPERATIONS  —  REFLECTIONS  —  FAILURES  OF  FORMER 
COMMANDERS  —  DISCUSSION  AND  COMPARISON  OF  THE  &EVERAL 
PLANS  OF  CAMPAIGN — BUTLER'S  AND  SIGEL'S  POSITIONS  —  UNJUST 
CRITICISM — THE  M'CLELLAN  FACTION — THE  CHAMPIONS  OF  THE 
CAUSE. 

No  clearer  statement  of  the  situation  of  military  affairs,  or 
of  the  plan  of  operations  adopted  for  the  future  conduct  of 
the  war,  can  be  made,  than  that  given  in  General  Grant's 
own  words : 

"  From  an  early  period  in  the  rebellion,"  he  says  in  his  comprehen 
sive  and  admirable  report,*  "  I  had  been  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
active  and  continuous  operations  of  all  the  troops  that  could  be  brought 
into  the  field,  regardless  of  season  and  weather,  were  necessary  to  a 
speedy  termination  of  the  war.  The  resources  of  the  enemy,  and  his 
numerical  strength,  were  far  inferior  to  ours;  but,  as  an  offset  to  this, 
we  had  a  vast  territory,  with  a  population  hostile  to  the  Government, 
to  garrison,  and  long  lines  of  river  and  railroad  communications  to  pro 
tect,  to  enable  us  to  supply  the  operating  armies. 

"  The  armies  in  the  East  and  West  acted  independently,  and  without 
concert,  like  a  balky  team, — no  two  ever  pulling  together, — enabling 
the  enemy  to  use  to  great  advantage  his  interior  lines  of  communication 
for  transporting  troops  from  East  to  West,  re-enforcing  the  army  most 
vigorously  pressed,  and  to  furlough  large  numbers,  during  seasons  of 
inactivity  on  our  part,  to  go  to  their  homes  and  do  the  work  of  pro 
viding  for  the  support  of  their  armies.  It  was  a  question  whether  our 
numerical  strength  and  resources  were  not  more  than  balanced  by  these 
disadvantages  and  the  enemy's  superior  position. 

"  From  the  first,  I  was  firm  in  the  conviction  that  no  peace  could  be 

*  Report  of  Lieutenant- General  IT.  S.  Grant,  of  the  Armies  of  the  United 
States,  dated  Head-quarters  Armies  of  the  United  States,  Washington,  D.  CN 
July  22,  1865. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  171 

had  that  would  be  stable  and  conducive  to  the  happiness  of  the  people, 
both  North  and  South,  until  the  military  power  of  the  rebellion  was 
entirely  broken. 

"  I  therefore  determined,  first,,  to  use  the  greatest  number  of  troops 
practicable  against  the  armed  force  of  the  enemy,  preventing  him  from 
using  the  same  force  at  different  seasons  against  first  one  and  then 
another  of  our  urmies,  and  the  possibility  of  repose  for  refitting  and 
producing  necessary  supplies  for  carrying  on  resistance ;  second,  to 
hammer  continuously  against  the  armed  force  of  the  enemy  and  his 
resources,  until,  by  mere  attrition,  if  in  no  other  way,  there  should  be 
nothing  left  to  him  but  an  equal  submission  with  the  loyal  sections  of 
our  common  country  to  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  land. 

"  These  views  have  been  kept  constantly  in  mind,  and  orders  given 
and  campaigns  made  to  carry  them  out.  Whether  they  might  have 
been  better  in  conception  and  execution  is  for  the  people,  who  mourn 
the  loss  of  friends  fallen,  and  who  have  to  pay  the  pecuniary  cost,  to 
say.  All  I  can  say  is,  that  what  I  have  done  has  been  done  conscien 
tiously,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  in  what  I  conceived  to  be  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  whole  country. 

"  At  the  date  when  this  report  begins,  the  situation  of  the  contend 
ing  forces  was  about  as  follows :  The  Mississippi  River  was  strongly 

,  garrisoned  by  Federal  troops  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  to  its  mouth. 
The  line  of  the  Arkansas  was  also  held,  thus  giving  us  armed  posses 
sion  of  all  west  of  the  Mississippi  north  of  that  stream.  A  few  points 
in  Southern  Louisiana,  not  remote  from  the  river,  were  held  by  us,  to 
gether  with  a  small  garrison  at  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande. 
All  the  balance  of  the  vast  territory  of  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and  Texas, 
was  in  the  almost  undisputed  possession  of  the  enemy,  with  an  army 
of  probably  not  less  than  80,000  effective  men  that  could  have  been 
brought  into  the  field,  had  there  been  sufficient  opposition  to  have 
brought  them  out.  The  let-alone-policy  had  demoralized  this  force  so 
that  probably  but  little  more  than  one-half  of  it  was  ever  present  in  gar 
rison  at  any  one  time.  But  the  one-half,  or  40,000  men,  with  the  bands 
of  guerrillas  scattered  through  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  along  the  Mis 
sissippi  River,  and  the  disloyal  character  of  much  of  the  population, 
compelled  the  use  of  a  large  number  of  troops  to  keep  navigation  open 
on  the  river,  and  to  protect  the  loyal  people  to  the  west  of  it.  To  the 
east  of  the  Mississippi  we  held  substantially  with  the  line  of  the  Ten 
nessee  and  Holston  Rivers,  running  eastward  to  include  nearly  all  of 
the  State  of  Tennessee.  South  of  Chattanooga  a  small  foothold  had 
been  obtained  in  Georgia,  sufficient  to  protect  ftast  Tennessee  from  in 
cursions  from  the  enemy's  force  at  Dalton,  Georgia.  West  Virginia 
was  substantially  within  our  lines.  Virginia,  with  the  exception  of  the 

•    northern  border,  the  Potomac  River,  a  small  area  about  the  mouth  of 


172  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

James  River  covered  by  the  troops  at  Norfolk  and  Fort  Monroe,  and 
the  territory  covered  by  the  Array  of  the  Potomac  lying  along  the 
Rapidan,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy.  Along  the  sea-coast, 
footholds  had  been  obtained  at  Plymouth,  Washington,  and  Newbern, 
in  North  Carolina ;  Beaufort,  Folly,  and  Morris  Islands,  Hilton  Head, 
Fort  Pulaski,  and  Port  Royal,  in  South  Carolina ;  Fernandina  and  St. 
Augustine,  in  Florida.  Key  West  and  Pensacola  were  also  in  our  pos 
session,  while  all  the  important  ports  were  blockaded  by  the  navy. 
The  accompanying  map,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to  General  Sherman 
and  other  commanders  in  March,  1864,  shows  by  red  lines  the  territory 
occupied  by  us  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion,  and  at  the  opening  of 
the  campaign  of  1864,  while  those  in  blue  are  the  lines  which  it  was 
proposed  to  occupy. 

"  Behind  the  Union  lines  there  were  many  bands  of  guerrillas,  and  a 
large  population  disloyal  to  the  Government,  making  it  necessary  to 
guard  every  foot  of  road  or  river  used  in  supplying  our  armies.  In  the 
South,  a  reign  of  military  despotism  prevailed,  which  made  every  man 
and  boy  capable  of  bearing  arms  a  soldier,  and  those  who  could  not 
bear  arms  in  the  field  acted  as  provosts  for  collecting  deserters  and 
returning  them.  This  enabled  the  enemy  to  bring  almost  his  entire 
strength  into  the  field. 

"  The  enemy  had  concentrated  the  bulk  of  his  forces  east  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  into  two  armies,  commanded  by  Generals  R.  E.  Lee  and  J.  E. 
Johnston,  his  ablest  and  best  Generals.  The  army  commanded  by  Lee 
occupied  the  south  bank  of  the  Rapidan,  extending  from  Mine  Run 
westward,  strongly  intrenched  in  position  at  Dalton,  Ga.,  covering 
and  defending  Atlanta,  Ga.,  a  place  of  great  importance  as  a  railroad 
center,  against  the  armies  under  Major-General  W.  T.  Sherman.  In 
addition  to  these  armies,  he  had  a  large  cavalry  force  under  Forrest, 
in  North-east  Mississippi ;  a  considerable  force,  of  all  arms,  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  and  in  the  western  part  of  Virginia  and  extreme 
eastern  part  of  Tennessee ;  and  also  confronting  our  sea-coast  garrisons, 
and  holding  blockaded  ports  where  we  had  no  foothold  upon  land. 

"  These  two  armies,  and  the  cities  covered  and  defended  by  them, 
were  the  main  objective  points  of  the  campaign. 

"  Major-General  W.  T.  Sherman,  who  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi,  embracing  all  the  armies 
and  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Alleghanies,  and  the 
Department  of  Arkansas,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  had  the  immediate 
command  of  the  armies  operating  against  Johnston. 

"  Major-General  George  G.  Meade  had  the  immediate  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  from  where  I  exercised  general  supervision 
of  the  movements  of  all  our  armies. 

"  General  Sherman  was  instructed  to  move  against  Johnston's  army, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  173 

to  break  it  up,  and  to  go  into  the  interior  of  the  enemy's  country  as 
far  as  he  could,  inflicting  all  the  damage  he  could  upon  their  war  re 
sources.  If  the  enemy  in  his  front  showed  signs  of  joining  Lee,  to  fol 
low  him  up  to  the  full  extent  of  his  ability,  while  I  would  prevent  the 
concentration  of  Lee  upon  him  if  it  was  in  the  power  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  to  do  so.  More  specific  written  instructions  were  not 
given,  for  the  reason  that  I  had  talked  over  with  him  the  plans  of  the 
campaign,  and  was  satisfied  that  he  understood  them  and  would  ex 
ecute  them  to  the  fullest  extent  possible. 

"  Major-General  N.  P.  Banks,  then  on  an  expedition  up  Red  River 
against  Shreveport.  Louisiana,  Cwhich  had  been  organized  previous  to 
my  appointment  to  command),  was  notified  by  me,  on  the  15th  of  March, 
of  the  importance  it  was  that  Shreveport  should  be  taken  at  the  earli 
est  possible  day,  and  that  if  he  found  that  the  taking  of  it  would  occupy 
from  ten  to  fifteen  days'  more  time  than  General  Sherman  had  given 
his  troops  to  be  absent  from  their  command,  he  would  send  them  back 
at  the  time  specified  by  General  Sherman,  even  if  it  led  to  the  abandon 
ment  of  the  main  object  of  the  Red  River  expedition,  for  this  force  was 
necessary  to  movements  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  that  should  his  expe 
dition  prove  successful,  he  would  hold  Shreveport  and  the  Red  River 
with  such  force  as  he  might  deem  necessary,  and  return  the  balance  of 
his  troops  to  the  neighborhood  of  New  Orleans,  commencing  no  move 
for  the  further  acquisition  of  territory  unless  it  was  to  make  that  then 
held  by  him  more  easily  held;  that  it  might  be  a  part  of  the  spring 
campaign  to  move  against  Mobile ;  that  it  certainly  would  be  if  troops 
enough  could  be  obtained  to  make  it  without  embarrassing  other  move 
ments  ;  that  New  Orleans  would  be  the  point  of  departure  for  such  an 
expedition ;  also,  that  I  had  directed  General  Steele  to  make  a  real 
move  from  Arkansas,  as  suggested  by  him  (General  Banks),  instead  of 
a  demonstration,  as  Steele  thought  advisable. 

"  On  the  21st  of  March,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  notification  and 
directions,  he  was  instructed  as  follows : 

" '  1.  If  successful  in  your  expedition  against  Shreveport,  that  you  turn 
over  the  defense  of  the  Red  River  to  General  Steele  and  the  navy. 

"  '  2.  That  you  abandon  Texas  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  your  hold 
upon  the  Rio  Grande.  This  can  be  held  with  4,000  men,  if  they  will  turn 
their  attention  immediately  to  fortifying  their  positions.  At  least  one-half  of 
the  force  required  for  this  service  might  be  taken  from  the  colored  troops. 

"  '  3.  By  properly  fortifying  on  the  Mississippi  River,  the  force  to  guard  it 
from  Port  Hudson  to  New  Orleans  can  be  reduced  to  10,000  men,  if  not  to 
a  less  number ;  6,000  more  would  then  hold  all  the  rest  of  the  territory 
necessary  to  hold  until  active  operations  can  be  resumed  west  of  the  river. 
According  to  your  last  return,  this  would  give  you  a  force  of  over  30,000 
effective  men  with  which  to  move  against  Mobile.  To  this  I  expect  to  add 


174  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

5,000  men  from  Missouri.  If,  however,  you  think  the  force  here  stated  too 
small  to  hold  the  territory  regarded  as  necessary  to  hold  possession  of,  I  would 
say,  concentrate  at  least  25,000  men  of  your  present  command  for  operations 
against  Mobile.  With  these,  and  such  additions  as  I  can  give  you  from  else 
where,  lose  no  time  in  making  a  demonstration,  to  be  followed  by  an  attack 
upon  Mobile.  Two  or  more  iron-clads  will  be  ordered  to  report  to  Admiral 
Farragut  This  gives  him  a  strong  naval  fleet  with  which  to  co-operate. 
You  can  make  your  own  arrangements  with  the  Admiral  for  his  co-operation, 
and  select  your  own  line  of  approach.  My  own  idea  of  the  matter  is,  that 
Pascagoula  should  be  your  base ;  but,  from  your  long  service  in  the  Gulf 
Department,  you  will  know  best  about  the  matter.  It  is  intended  that  your 
movements  shall  be  co-operative  with  movements  elsewhere,  and  you  can  not 
now  start  too  soon.  All  I  would  now  add  is,  that  you  commence  the  concen 
tration  of  your  forces  at  once.  Preserve  a  profound  secrecy  of  what  you  in 
tend  doing,  and  start  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.' 

"  Major-General  Meade  was  instructed  that  Lee's  army  would  be  his 
objective  point ;  that  wherever  Lee  went  he  would  go  also.  For  his 
movement  two  plans  presented  themselves : — one  to  cross  the  Rapidan 
below  Lee,  moving  by  his  right  flank ;  the  other  above,  moving  by  his 
left.  Each  presented  advantages  over  the  other,  with  corresponding 
objections.  By  crossing  above,  Lee  would  be  cut  off  from  all  chance 
of  ignoring  Richmond  or  going  North  on  a  raid.  But  if  we  took  this 
route,  all  we  did  would  have  to  be  done  whilst  the  rations  we  started 
with  held  out;  besides  it  separated  us  from  Butler,  so  that  he  could'not 
be  directed  how  to  co-operate.  If  we  took  the  other  route,  Brandy 
Station  could  be  used  as  a  base  of  supplies  until  another  was  secured 
on  the  York  or  James  Rivers.  Of  these,  however,  it  was  decided  to 
take  the  lower  route. 

"  The  following  letter  of  instructions  was  addressed  to  Major-Gen 
eral  B.  F.  Butler : 

"  '  FORT  MONROE,  VA.,  April  2,  1864. 

" '  GENERAL — In  the  spring  campaign,  which  it  is  desirable  shall  commence 
at  as  early  a  day  as  practicable,  it  is  proposed  to  have  co-operative  action  of 
all  the  armies  in  the  field,  as  far  as  this  object  can  be  accomplished. 

' '  It  will  not  be  possible  to  unite  our  armies  into  two  or  three  large  ones, 
to  act  as  so  many  units,  owing  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  holding  on  to  the 
territory  already  taken  from  the  enemy.  But,  generally  speaking,  concentra 
tion  can  be  practically  effected  by  armies  moving  to  the  interior  of  the  enemy's 
country  from  the  territory  they  have  to  guard.  By  such  movement  they 
interpose  themselves  between  the  enemy  and  the  country  to  be  guarded, 
thereby  reducing  the  number  necessary  to  guard  important  points,  or  at  least 
occupy  the  attention  of  a  part  of  the  enemy's  force,  if  no  greater  object  is 
pained.  Lee's  army  and  Richmond  being  the  greater  objects  towards  which 
our  attention  must  be  directed  in  the  next  campaign,  it  is  desirable  to  unite 
all  the  force  we  can  against  them.  The  necessity  of  covering  Washington 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  175 

with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  of  covering  your  Department  with  your 
army,  makes  it  impossible  to  unite  these  forces  at  the  beginning  of  any  move. 
I  propose,  therefore,  what  comes  nearest  this  of  any  thing  that  seems  practi 
cable  :  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  will  act  from  its  present  base,  Lee's  army 
being  the  objective  point.  You  will  collect  all  the  forces  from  your  command 
that  can  be  spared  from  garrison  duty, — I  should  say  not  less  than  20,000 
effective  men, — to  operate  on  the  south  side  of  James  River,  Richmond  being 
your  objective  point.  To  the  force  you  already  have  will  be  added  about 
10,000  men  from  South  Carolina,  under  Major-General  Gilmore,  who  will 
command  them  in  person.  Major-General  W.  F.  Smith  is  ordered  to  report 
to  you,  to  command  the  troops  sent  into  the  field  from  your  own  Department. 

" '  General  Gilmore  will  be  ordered  to  report  to  you  at  Fortress  Monroe, 
.  with  all  the  troops  on  transports,  by  the  18th  instant,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as 
practicable.  Should  you  not  receive  notice  by  that  time  to  move,  you  will 
make  such  disposition  of  them  and  your  other  forces  as  you  may  deem  best 
calculated  to  deceive  the  enemy  as  to  the  real  move  to  be  made. 

" '  When  you  are  notified  to  move,  take  City  Point  with  as  much  force  as 
possible.  Fortify,  or  rather  intrench  at  once,  and  concentrate  all  your  troops 
for  the  field  there  as  rapidly  as  you  can.  From  City  Point,  directions  can  not 
be  given  at  this  time  for  your  further  movements. 

" '  The  fact  that  has  already  been  stated, — that  is,  that  Richmond  is  to  be 
your  objective  point,  and  that  there  is  to  be  co-operation  between  your  force 
and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, — must  be  your.guide.  This  indicates  the  neces 
sity  of  your  holding  close  to  the  south  bank  of  the  James  River  as  you  advance. 
Then,  should  the  enemy  be  forced  into  his  intrenchments  in  Richmond,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  would  follow,  and,  by  means  of  transports  the  two 
armies  would  be  a  unit. 

"  '  All  the  minor  details  of  your  advance  are  left  entirely  to  your  direction. 
If,  however,  you  think  it  practicable  to  use  your  cavalry  south  of  you,  so  as 
to  cut  the  railroad  about  Hick's  Ford  about  the  time  of  the  general  advance, 
it  would  be  of  immense  advantage. 

" '  You  will  please  forward,  for  my  information,  at  the  earliest  practicable 
day,  all  orders,  details,  and  instructions  you  may  give  for  the  execution  of 
this  order/ 

"On  the  16th,  these  instructions  were  substantially  reiterated.  On 
the  19th,  in  order  to  secure  full  co-operation  between  his  army  and  that 
of  General  Meade,  he  was  informed  that  I  expected  him  to  move  from 
Fort  Monroe  the  same  day  that  General  Meade  moved  from  Culpepper. 
The  exact  time  I  was  to  telegraph  him  as  soon  as  it  was  fixed,  and  that 
it  would  not  be  earlier  than  the  27th  of  April ;  that  it  was  my  inten 
tion  to  fight  Lee  between  Culpepper  and  Richmond  if  he  would  stand. 
Should  he,  however,  fall  back  into  Richmond,  I  would  follow  up,  and 
make  a  junction  with  his  (General  Butler's)  army  on  the  James  River ; 
that,  could  I  be  certain  he  would  be  able  to  invest  Richmond  on  the 
south  side  so  as  to  have  his  left  resting  on  the  James,  above  the  city,  I 
would  form  a  junction  there  ;  that  circumstances  might  make  this  course 


176  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

advisable  anyhow;  that  he  should  use  every  exertion  to  secure  footing 
as  far  up  the  south  side  of  the  river  as  he  could,  and  as  soon  as  possi 
ble,  after  the  receipt  of  orders,  to  move  ;  that  if  he  could  not  carry  the 
city,  he  should  at  least  detain  as  large  a  force  as  possible. 

"  In  co-operation  with  the  main  movements  against  Lee  and  Johnston, 
I  was  desirous  of  using  all  other  troops  necessarily  kept  in  departments 
remote  from  the  fields  of  immediate  operations,  and  also  those  kept  in 
the  background  for  the  protection  of  our  extended  lines  between  the 
loyal  States  and  the  awnies  operating  against  them. 

"A  very  considerable  force,  under  command  of  Major-Generel  Sigel, 
was  so  held  for  the  protection  of  West  Virginia,  and  the  frontiers  of 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  Whilst  these  troops  could  not  be  with 
drawn  to  distant  fields  without  exposing  the  North  to  invasion  by  com 
paratively  small  bodies  of  the  enemy,  they  could  act  directly  to  their 
front  and  give  better  protection  than  if  lying  idle  in  garrison.  By  such 
movement  they  would  either  compel  the  enemy  to  detach  largely  for 
the  protection  of  his  supplies  and  lines  of  communication,  or  he  would 
lose  them. 

"  General  Sigel  was  therefore  directed  to  organize  all  his  available 
force  into  two  expeditions,  to  move  from  Beverly  and  Charleston,  un 
der  command  of  Generals  Ord  and  Crook,  against  the  East  Tennessee 
and  Virginia  railroad.  Subsequently,  General  Ord  having  been  relieved 
at  his  own  request,  General  Sigel  was  instructed,  at  his  own  suggestion, 
to  give  up  the  expedition  by  Beverly,  and  to  form  two  columns,  one 
under  General  Crook,  on  the  Kanawha,  numbering  about  10,000 
men,  and  one  on  the  Shenandoah,  numbering  about  7,000  men,  the 
one  on  the  Shenandoah  to  assemble  between  Cumberland  and  the 
Shenandoah,  and  the  infantry  and  artillery  advanced  to  Cedar  Creek, 
with  such  cavalry  as  could  be  made  available  at  the  moment,  to  threaten 
the  enemy  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  advance  as  far  as  possible ; 
while  General  Crook  would  take  possession  of  Lewisburg  with  part  of 
his  force  and  move  down  the  Tennessee  railroad,  doing  as  much  damage 
as  he  could,  destroying  the  New  River  bridge  and  the  salt-works  at 
Saltville,  Virginia. 

"  Owing  to  the  weather  and  bad  condition  of  the  roads,  operations 
were  delayed  until  the  1st  of  May,  when,  everything  being  in  readiness 
and  the  roads  favorable,  orders  were  given  for  a  general  movement  of 
all  the  armies  not  later  than  the  4th  of  May. 

"  My  first  object  being  to  break  the  military  power  of  the  rebellion, 
and  capture  the  enemy's  important  strongholds,  made  me  desirous  that 
General  Butler  should  succeed  in  his  movement  against  Richmond,  as 
that  would  tend  more  than  anything  else,  unless  it  were  the  capture  of 
Lee's  army,  to  accomplish  this  desired  result  in  the  East.  If  he  failed, 
it  was  my  determination,  by  hard  fighting,  either  to  compel  Lee  to  re- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRA2ST.  177 

treat,  or  to  so  cripple  him  that  he  could  not  detach  a  large  force  to  go 
North,  and  still  retain  enough  for  the  defense  of  Richmond.  It  was 
well  understood,  by  both  Generals  Butler  and  Meade,  before  starting 
on  the  campaign,  that  it  was  my  intention  to  put  both  their  armies 
south  of  the  James  River ;  in  case  of  failure  to  destroy  Lee  with 
out  it. 

"  Before  giving  General  Butler  his  instructions,  I  visited  him  at  Fort 
Monroe,  and,  in  conversation,  pointed  out  the  apparent  importance  of 
getting  possession  of  Petersburg,  and  destroying  railroad  communica 
tion  as  far  south  as  possible.  Believing,  however,  in  the  practicability 
of  capturing  Richmond,  unless  it  was  re-enforced,  I  made  that  the  ob 
jective  point  of  his  operations.  As  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  to 
move  simultaneously  with  him,  Lee  could  not  detach  from  his  army 
with  safety,  and  the  enemy  did  not  have  troops  elsewhere  to  bring  to 
the  defense  of  the  city  in  time  to  meet  a  rapid  movement  from  the 
north  of  James  River. 

"  I  may  here  state  that,  commanding  all  the  armies  as  I  did,  I  tried, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  leave  General  Meade  in  independent  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  My  instructions  for  that  army  were  all 
through  him,  and  were  general  in  their  nature,  leaving  all  the  details 
and  the  execution  to  him." 

The  particular  plan  of  operations  for  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  has  been  severely  criticised  by  various  writers  upon 
the  war;  apparently  with  the  object  of  detracting  from 
Grant's  reputation  as  a  General,*  but  in  their  eagerness  to 
exhibit  superior  knowledge  of  strategy,  they  lose  sight,  in 
the  outset,  of  the  first  principle  applicable  to  the  problem 
which  presented  itself  for  solution  at  that  stage  of  the  war. 
It  is  a  matter  of  some  importance,  for  the  sake  of  history, 
that  this  question  should  be  carefully  examined.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Grant's  primary  object  was  not  the  capture 
of  Richmond,  nor  the  conquest  of  hostile  territory,  as  has 
been  falsely  assumed,  but  the  absolute  destruction  of  the  in 
surgent  armies.  From  the  first  he  was  "  firm  in  the  convic 
tion  that  no  peace  could  be  had  that  would  be  stable  and 
conducive  to  the  happiness  of  the  people,  both  North  and 
South,  until  the  military  power  of  the  rebellion  was  entirely 
broken."  How  he  expected  to  break  this  military  power  is 

*  See  particularly  "  Campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  by  William 
Swinton. 

12 


178  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

stated  with  clearness,  and  is  based  upon  the  soundest  military 
principles : 

"  I  therefore  determined,  first  to  use  the  greatest  number  of  troops 
practicable  against  the  armed  force  of  the  enemy,  preventing  him  from 
using  the  same  force  at  different  seasons  against  first  one  and  then 
another  of  our  armies ; "  and,  "  second,  to  hammer  continuously  against 
the  armed  force  of  the  enemy  and  his  resources,  until  by  mere  attrition 
if  in  no  other  way,  there  should  be  nothing  left  to  him  but  an  equal 
submission  with  the  loyal  section  of  our  common  country,  to  the  Con 
stitution  and  the  laws  of  the  land." 

It  will  be  observed  that  he  says  nothing  here  in  reference 
to  strategic  points  ;  converging  or  diverging  lines  of  opera 
tions,  but  has  steadily  kept  in  view  only  the  armed  forces  of 
the  enemy.  But  as  if  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt  on  this 
point,  he  instructed  Meade  that  Lee's  army,  the  very  head 
and  front  of  the  rebel  cause,  "  would  be  his  objective  point ; 
that  wherever  Lee  went,  he  would  go  also."  In  the  entire 
range  of  all  that  has  ever  been  said,  either  by  the  writers  or 
the  fighters,  there  can  not  be  found  a  more  comprehensive 
plan  of  a  great  war,  nor  a  more  judicious  statement  of  the 
principles  upon  which  it  should  be  conducted.  If  it  be  true, 
as  has  been  stated,  that  the  General  who  conceived  and  car 
ried  this  plan  into  execution,  although  educated  as  a  soldier, 
never  read  a  treatise  on  grand  tactics  or  strategy,  and,  like 
Bagration,  knew  nothing  of  those  sciences,  except  what  he 
learned  from  his  own  experience  and  reflection,  his  country 
men  may  justly  ascribe  to  him  the  possession  of  military  genius 
of  the  highest  order. 

The  position  of  Lee's  army  was  as  well  known  as  that  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  when  Grant  moved  his  head-quar 
ters  to  Culpepper  Court  House ;  but  even  if  there  had  been 
a  reasonable  doubt  on  this  point,  past  experience  had  shown 
that  the  national  forces  would  not  be  permitted  to  go  far  in 
the  right  direction  without  obtaining  the  desired  information. 
This  fact  alone,  ought  to  have  settled,  as  it  did,  all  questions 
in  reference  to  the  line  of  operations  to  be  pursued  in  the 
coming  campaign ;  and  yet  it  is  claimed  that  Grant  should 
have  withdrawn  from  Lee's  front,  marched  to  Washington  or 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GBANT.  179 

Acquia  Creek,  transported  his  army  to  the  James,  and  there 
begun  his  campaign,  by  moving  directly  upon  Richmond  or 
its  communications.  It  is  asserted,  in  support  of  this  plan, 
that  Grant  himself,  before  being  called  to  the  command  of  all 
the  armies,  wrote  a  letter  to  Halleck  recommending  a  plan 
similar  to  that  devised  by  Generals  Franklin  and  Smith. 
But  without  entering  into  the  details  of  these  plans,  or  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  submitted,  it  is  enough 
for  present  purposes  to  assert  that  the  country  has  good  rea 
son  to  be  thankful  that  Grant,  when  he  became  charged 
with  the  actual  responsibility  of  making  and  executing  a  plan 
for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  saw  sufficient  reason,  after  care 
ful  investigation  and  study,  to  change  his  views,  and  adopt  a 
plan  more  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  war. 
The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  already  tried  the  Peninsula 
route  to  its  sore  cost.  The  long  array  of  unfortunate  events, 
beginning  with  the  seven  days'  battle,  including  the  closing 
events  of  Pope's  well-managed  but  disastrous  campaign ;  the 
indecisive  battle  of  Antietam ;  the  bloody  disaster  of  Fred- 
ericksburg ;  the  inglorious  failure  of  Chancellorsville,  scarcely 
counterbalanced  by  the  expulsion  of  Lee  from  Pennsylvania 
by  the  uncompleted  victory  of  Gettysburg,  the  Mine  Run  cam 
paign,  followed  by  the  rapid  retreat  on  Washington,  had  their 
beginning  in  the  attempt  to  take  Richmond  by  advancing 
upon  it  by  the  way  of  the  Peninsula.  And  although  it  may 
be  true  that  misfortune,  privation,  and  misery  are  the  school 
of  good  soldiers,  it  can  scarcely  be  claimed  that  two  years  of 
such  schooling,  unvaried  by  a  single  decisive  victory,  had  im 
proved  the  morale  of  the  army.  Its  ranks  had  been  decima 
ted  by  battle  and  disease,  its  hope  wasted  by  continual  delay, 
and  although  discipline  had  not  yet  been  subverted,  and  that 
soul  of  armies,  the  spirit  of  a  great  people,  still  animated  its 
ranks,  it  was  not  then  the  splendid  organization  it  once  had 
been,  or  that  it  would  have  been  had  victory  rested  perma 
nently  upon  its  banners. 

By  an  examination   of  the  map  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
eastern  theater  of  operations   is   mainly  a  narrow  strip  of 


180  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

country  from  thirty  to  sixty  miles  wide,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  length,  lying  between  the  Blue  Eidge,  on  the  west, 
and  the  coast  of  Chesapeake  Bay  on  the  east,  limited  on  the 
north  by  the  Potomac,  and  intersected  at  intervals  rarely 
greater  than  ten  miles  by  rivers  of  various  sizes,  but  none  of 
them  impassable  by  the  various  means  usually  commanded 
by  armies.  The  uniform  failure  which  had  attended  the  cam 
paigns  of  Pope,  Hooker,  Burnside  and  Meade,  through  this 
region  was  not  due  so  much  to  the  difficulty  of  passing  the 
rivers  or  overcoming  the  natural  obstacles,  as  to  faulty  com 
binations  and  indecisive  generalship.  Had  either  of  these 
Generals  been  permitted  to  unite  the  forces  available  for  ac 
tive  operations,  and  moved  them  with  energy  and  decision 
upon  the  enemy's  lines,  the  result  must  have  been  in  his  favor, 
notwithstanding  the  natural  and  artificial  difficulties  encoun 
tered,  or  the  length  of  the  lines  which  he  would  have  been 
compelled  to  maintain.  The  student  of  military  history  will 
find  Grant's  overland  campaign  a  model  in  this  respect.  The 
difficulties  surmounted  in  passing  the  various  rivers  and 
creeks,  and  in  overcoming  all  the  other  obstacles,  except  the 
Wilderness,  peculiar  to  this  line,  were  not  unusually  destruc 
tive  of  life  ;  and  no  army  was  ever  more  abundantly  or  more 
promptly  provided  with  supplies  of  all  kinds  necessary  to 
its  efficiency.  The  passage  of  the  Rapidan,  North  Anna, 
Pamunky,  Chickahominy  and  James  Eivers,  was  effected 
with  the  loss  of  scarcely  a  single  man.  Lee  made  no  defense 
of  those  streams  ;  but  this  was  to  have  been  anticipated  ;  for 
had  he  tried  to  hold  any  one  of  them,  he  must  have  been  com 
pelled  to  disseminate  his  troops  in  such  a  manner,  to  watch 
the  various  points  available  for  crossing,  that  Grant  could 
easily  have  caught  him  at  such  disadvantage  as  to  render 
victory  certain. 

It  was  only  by  holding  his  army  well  in  hand,  compact  and 
alert,  that  Lee  was  enabled  to  plant  himself  with  such  address 
across  Grant's  line  of  march,  in  time  to  prepare  those  en 
trenched  positions  which  covered  him  almost  as  effectively  as 
the  regular  entrenchments  of  Richmond  could  have  J>one.  It 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  181 

was  this  and  not  the  physical  features  of  the  theatre  of  oper 
ations  which  gave  the  overland  campaign  its  destructive 
peculiarities, — making  it  "  a  kind  of  running  siege  "  instead 
of  a  campaign  subject  to  the  ordinary  rules  of  warfare.  This 
peculiarity  characterized  all  the  later  campaigns  in  the  war, 
and  would  have  been  just  as  certainly  encountered  had  the 
final  campaign  been  made  from  Fortress  Monroe  instead  of 
from  the  Rapidan.  In  fact,  the  Peninsula  route  presents  all 
the  difficulties  which  were  encountered  in  the  overland  cam 
paign,  besides  others  still  more  formidable.  The  distance 
from  Fortress  Monroe  to  Richmond,  by  the  way  of  Williams- 
burg,  is  about  eighty-five  miles,  and  as  the  Peninsula  is  only 
from  five  to  ten  miles  in  width,  occasionally  narrowing,  as  at 
Yorktown  and  Williamsburg,  to  a  defile  not  over  two  miles 
wide,  it  is  evident  that,  by  the  system  of  rapid  fortification 
which  can  be  adapted  with  at  least  as  much  advantage  to  a 
level  country  as  to  a  broken  one,  Lee  could  have  made  as 
stubborn  a  defense  on  that  line  as  on  any  other.  Indeed,  the 
battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  the  bloodiest  of  the  entire  campaign, 
was  fought  on  the  Peninsula,  at  the  point  where  the  overland 
route  intersects  it.  To  be  sure,  Lee's  position  at  any  place 
on  the  Peninsula  might  have  been  turned  by  a  double  passage 
of  either  the  James  or  the  York  River,  but  such  a  maneuver 
would  have  been  attended  by  a  great  deal  more  danger  to  the 
invading  army  than  any  ordinary  turning  movement  in  the 
open  country.  If  undertaken,  it  would  have  presented  to  Lee 
even  a  better  opportunity  than  that  of  which  he  availed  him 
self  to  deal  McClellan  the  staggering  blow  at  Games'  Mill. 
A  route  south  of  the  James  would  have  been,  if  anything, 
still  more  disadvantageous.  The  experience  of  McClellan, 
who  was  delayed  by  an  insignificant  *  force  of  rebels  at  York- 
town  nearly  a  month,  and  finally  defeated  by  being  caught 

*"It  is  almost  incredible,  but  it  was  nevertheless  true,  that  an  army  of 
68,000  men  and  100  guns  had  been  repulsed  by  5000  men,  and  forced  to  resort 
to  the  tedious  delay  of  a  siege.  Had  General  McClellan  massed  his  troops, 
and  made  a  bold  and  determined  dash  at  any  part  of  the  Southern  line  on 
the  5th,  6th  or  7th  of  April,  he  could  have  broken  through  it." — "Life  of  R. 
E.  Lee,"  p.  83. 


182  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

with  his  army  astride  of  the  Chickahominy,  may  be  justly 
regarded  as  a  warning  not  to  be  neglected  by  a  General  of 
ordinary  capacity.  Most  people  of  sound  judgment  when 
they  consider  these  arguments,  will  not  only  hold  Grant 
blameless,  but  will  regard  him  as  having  shown  the  highest 
qualities  of  a  General  in  preferring  the  direct  route  to  Lee's 
position,  where  he  could  always  defend  Washington,  and  have 
ample  room  for  maneuvering  either  to  the  right  or  the  left. 

The  case  does  not  require  further  discussion ;  but  let  it  be 
supposed  that  Grant  had  decided  differently,  and  after  leav 
ing  30,000  or  40,000  good  troops  to  cover  Washington,  had 
transferred  the  bulk  of  his  army  by  water  to  Bermuda  Hun 
dred  or  West  Point.  What  would  have  been  the  probable 
course  of  events?  It  is  not  likely  at  that  stage  of  the  war 
that  Lee  could  have  been  kept  ignorant  of  such  a  movement 
longer  than  a  few  hours,  and  still  less  likely  that  he  would 
have  remained  quiescent  during  the  month  or  six  weeks  which, 
at  the  lowest  calculation,  must  have  intervened  before  the 
army  could  have  been  assembled  at  either  place.  When 
McClellan  determined  to  transfer  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
to  the  lower  Chesapeake,  he  gave  the  order  for  collecting  the 
transports  on  the  17th  of  February  and  began  his  movement 
from  Washington  on  the  17th  of  March,  and  his  advance 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Yorktown  on  the  5th  of  April,  fifty- 
one  days  from  the  date  of  the  first  order,  and  twenty  from 
the  actual  commencement  of  the  transfer.  It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  Grant,  confronting  the  enemy  on  the  Rapidan, 
could  have  either  withdrawn  so  readily,  or  made  the  move 
ment  in  so  short  a  time,  even  if  he  had  decided  to  do  so  silly 
a  thing  as  to  move  his  army  by  land  and  water  three  hundred 
miles  for  the  purpose  of  finding  an  enemy  whom  he  could 
reach  any  time  in  a  half  day's  march.  Had  he  really  put 
this  absurd  proposition  into  practice,  how  many  chances  would 
he  have  had  thereby,  more  than  on  the  Rapidan,  of  finding 
and  beating  the  enemy  ?  It  is  not  probable  that  a  General  of 
Lee's  capacity  would  have  thrown  away  the  advantage  of  his 
interior  lines  of  railway  communication,  and  stood  idly  wait- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  183 

ing  to  see  where  the  blow  would  fall.  During  the  twenty 
days  npon  which  he  could  have  surely  counted,  his  army  could 
have  marched  four  hundred  miles,  or  from  his  position  at 
Orange  Court  House  to  Washington,  back  to  Richmond,  then 
to  Washington,  and  back  to  Orange  Court  House  again.  In 
all  human  probability  he  would  have  put  into  operation  his 
long  contemplated  game  of  "swapping  queens,"  and  when 
Grant  had  left  Washington  with  his  army,  would  have  over 
whelmed  the  covering  force  of  30,000  or  40,000  men,  and 
made  a  detachment  to  take  possession  of  the  National  Capitol, 
while  he  moved  with  the  bulk  of  his  force  upon  Baltimore 
and  Philadelphia ;  or,  better  still,  while  he  marched  to  Rich 
mond  or  Petersburg;  or  wherever  else  it  might  be  necessary 
in  order  to  meet  the  expeditionary  force  threatening  him.  In 
this  aspect  of  the  case,  the  dangers  of  which  are  by  no  means 
overstated,  General  Grant  may  well  congratulate  himself,  as 
well  as  the  country,  that  he  chose  the  overland  route  to  find 
the  enemy,  rather  than  going  by  water  to  the  Peninsula,  or 
to  the  south  side  of  the  James.  His  fame  as  a  strategist  and 
far-seeing  commander  needs  no  better  foundation. 

Grant  has  been  also  severely  criticised  for  permitting  But 
ler  to  advance  from  Fortress  Monroe,  and  Sigel  from  West 
Virginia,  instead  of  uniting  them  with  Meade  before  the  cam 
paign  began ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Butler  was 
united  with  Meade  before  the  army  reached  Richmond,  and 
that  Sigel's  advance  from  West  .Virginia  was  made  with 
troops  "  which,  under  no  circumstances,  could-  be  withdrawn 
to  distant  fields,  without  exposing  the  North  to  invasion." 
It  was  hoped,  too,  that  the  latter  command,  if  it  did  not 
succeed  in  breaking  up  important  railroad  communications, 
would  at  least  neutralize  the  large  force  which  must  neces 
sarily  be  detached  by  Lee  for  their  protection.  Its  success 
in  the  latter  respect  was  sufficiently  realized  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  campaign,  as  well  as  subsequently  when,  under 
Crook,  it  formed  a  part  of  Sheridan's  army  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  General  Grant's  plan,  instead  of  being  the  concen 
tric  movement  of  three  independent  and  equal  armies,  was 


184  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

really  in  the  nature  of  an  advance  by  one  grand  army,  with 
two  converging  but  important  and  indispensable  detachments ; 
and  even  if  success  had  not  given  it  sufficient  approval,  the 
example  of  Napoleon,  the  great  master  of  modern  warfare, 
on  many  similar  occasions,  relieves  the  General  from  any 
culpability  which  may  be  charged «upon  him  by  over-captious 
critics. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  he  could  not  have  had,  in 
some  places,  the  assistance  of  men  better  able  to  comprehend 
and  perform  the  duty  allotted  them ;  for  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
whenever  Grant's  plans  failed,  it  was  due  more  to  faults  in 
the  details  and  execution  than  to  defects  in  the  plans  them 
selves.  No  fairer  opportunity  was  ever  lost  than  Butler  had 
after  landing  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  Had  that  General  been 
adequate  to  the  part  assigned  him,  he  would  have  marched 
instantly  against  the  communications  of  Richmond,  and  the 
rebel  troops  from  the  Carolinas  hastening  to  its  defense.  He 
would  not  have  disobeyed  his  orders  to  fortify  at  City  Point, 
but  would  have  left  that  duty  to  a  detachment,  and,  in  em 
ulation  of  Grant's  example,  the  year  before  in  the  interior 
of  Mississippi,  would  have  seized  Petersburg  with  the  bulk 
of  his  troops,  broken  the  railroads  to  the  South  and  West, 
scattered  the  forces  under  Beauregard,  and  then  essayed  a 
movement  against  Richmond  itself.  Such  a  campaign  as  this 
must  have  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  rebel  capitol,  or  at 
least  in  compelling  Lee  to  send  a  strong  detachment  for  its 
defense.  To  claim  that  Grant's  orders  did  not  contemplate 
such  a  campaign,  is  as  unreasonable  as  to  say  that,  when  he 
landed  at  Bruinsburg,  he  had  only  Yicksburg  in  view,  and  did 
not  contemplate  making  any  movement  whatever  towards  the 
interior,  or  giving  battle  at  Port  Gibson,  Raymond,  Jackson, 
or  Champion's  Hill,  or  even  the  necessity  of  breaking  up  the 
railroad  between  Jackson  and  Vicksburg,  before  securing  a 
base  on  the  Yazoo,  and  beginning  the  final  operations  of  the 
siege. 

It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  throughout  his  career, 
Grant  has  studiously  avoided  giving  detailed  instructions  to 


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LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  185 

his  subordinates.  His  habits  in  this  respect  were  very  pecu 
liar.  His  greatest  care  seems  to  have  been  directed  to  the 
selection  of  subordinates  who  would  know  how  to  make  their 
own  orders  in  emergencies.  With  Sherman,  McPherson,  and 
Sheridan,  he  always  regarded  it  as  sufficient  to  indicate  what 
he  wished  to  have  done,  leaving  them  to  accomplish  it  in 
whatever  way  circumstances- might  seem  to  require.  He  had 
the  sagacity  to  understand  that,  all  other  things  being  equal, 
even  such  Generals  as  these  would  work  more  energetically 
to  carry  out  their  own  plans  than  his.  This  indicates  no 
servility  or  poverty  of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  General, 
but  shows  the  keenest  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  human 
nature,  and  accounts,  in  a  great  degree,  for  some  of  his  best 
generalship. 

In  regard  to  the  control  of  events  under  his  immediate 
supervision,  the  rule  not  to  interfere  with  details  appears  to 
have  been  seldom  departed  from.  He  says  :  "  Commanding 
all  the  armies  as  I  did,  I  tried  as  far  as  possible  to  leave 
General  Meade  in  independent  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  My  instructions  for  that  army  were  general  in 
their  nature,  leaving  all  the  details  and  the  execution  to  him."* 
In  the  face  of  this  clear  statement,  Grant  has  been  held  re 
sponsible  for  the  blunder  of  every  division,  corps  or  army  com 
mander.  No  one  at  that  period  realized  more  clearly  than  the 
Lieutenant-General  that  he  was  engaged  in  a  war  a  Toutrance^ 
and  while  he  believed  in  the  virtues  of  continuous  fighting, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  he  never  ordered  an  assault,  or  consented 
to  one,  against  the  expressed  judgment  of  the  General  charged 
with  arran inn^  the  details. 

O        O 

When  Grant  took  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
as  has  been  stated,  it  was  not  what  it  had  once  been.  The 
different  corps  could  never  be  made  to  act  in  vigorous  concert 
either  on  the  march  or  in  battle.  To  use  the  celebrated  figure 
of  the  balky  team,  "no  two  of  them  would  work  together." 
Changes  were  made  for  the  sake  of  harmony  and  to  promote 
zeal  and  good  feeling ;  but  no  efforts  of  this  sort  were  ever 

*  Official  Keport. 


186  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

entirely  successful.     There  always  remained  a  faction  that  be 
lieved  in  the  superiority  of  McClellan,  and  looked  upon  Grant 
with  cynical  distrust.     They  were  not  positively  insubordi 
nate,  but  were  even  more  dangerous  than  if  they  had  been  ; 
ever  ready  to  criticise  this  movement  or  that,  and  to  lay  all 
blunders  at  his  door.      They   reasoned  from  Grant's  ante 
cedents  that  he  was  fortunate  rather  than  able  ;  that  he  had 
been   always  victorious    because    he  had  not  yet  contended 
either  with  the  best  armies  or  the  best  Generals.     They  could 
not  believe  it  possible  that  a  man  who  had  taken  only  a  me 
dium  stand  in  his  class  at  West  Point,  and  had  chosen  the 
infantry   service,  should   be   great  in  anything,  and  it  was 
thought  that  when  he  should  encounter  Lee  and  his  army,  he 
might  possibly  learn  something  about  real  warfare.     It  is  but 
just  to  state  that  these  sentiments  were  neither  general  nor 
powerful ;  but,  joined  writh  the  other  difficulties  of  the  situa 
tion,  they  materially  complicated  the  solution  of  the  problem 
presented  at  that  stage  of  the  contest.     But  for  the  fact  that 
the  rank  of  Lieutenant- General,  and  the  general  command  of 
all  the  national  forces,  carried  with  it  the  power  to  make  and 
unmake  whom  he  pleased,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  if  even 
Grant,  with  all  his  courage  and  generalship,  could  have  led 
the  army  through  the  first  three  days  of  the  Wilderness,  much 
less  maintained  its  constancy  till  the  end.     But  if  there  were 
doubters  like  the  faction  to  which  we  have  referred,  the  cause 
had  its  champions  as  well,  who,  like  Lincoln  and  Stanton,  in 
the  Cabinet,  with  Sherman,  Thomas,  Sheridan  and  a  host  of 
gallant  officers  and  men,  in  the  field,  inspired  by  the  loyal 
spirit  of  the  people,  gave  their  whole  strength  to  the  support 
of  the  General  into  whose  hands  they  had  committed  the  des 
tiny  of  the  national  cause. 

When  the  complete  history  of  all  this  shall  be  recorded,  it 
will  be  seen  as  not  the  least  among  the  glories  of  our  country, 
that  it  produced  its  leader,  as  it  were,  out  of  its  own  virtues ; 
pure,  unselfish,  and  just ;  courageous,  constant  and  self-re 
liant  ;  watchful,  patient,  and  full  of  hope  ;  clear-sighted, 
truthful,  and  magnanimous. 


CHAPTEE    XXI. 

LEE'S  POSITION  AT  ORANGE  COURT  HOUSE — GRANT  DECIDES  UPOX  HIS 
POLICY HE  ISSUES  HI&  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  MEADE  —  MEADE  AR 
RANGES  DETAILS — THE  ARMY  ON  THE  MOVE — THE  POSITION  IN  THE 
WILDERNESS — LEE  DETERMINES  TO  FALL  UPON  GRANT — WARREN 

ATTACKED — THE  ONSET  BROKEN — THE  BULK  OF  THE  REBEL  ARMY 
IN  FRONT — THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  PARKER'S  STORE — WILSON  EN 
COUNTERS  STUART'S  CAVALRY — BURNSIDE  TAKES  POSITION — THE 

CONTENDING  ARMIES — A  REMARKABLE  FIELD — NO  RULE  OF  MOD 
ERN  WARFARE  APPLICABLE — GRANT  DECIDES  TO  BE  THE  ATTACK 
ING  PARTY — LEE  ALSO  RESOLUTE — THE  UNION  ARMY  MOVES  TO 
THK  ATTACK  —  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  WILDERNESS  —  DESPERATE 

FIGHTING — SHERIDAN'S  OPERATIONS — REFLECTIONS. 

THE  defensive  line  occupied  by  Lee  at  Orange  Court  House, 
was  well  selected  and  thoroughly  strengthened.  Covered  by 
the  Rapidan,  a  stream  of  considerable  size  with  steep  banks 
and  difficult  fords,  flanked  on  the  east  by  the  Wilderness,  and 
on  the  west  by  the  foot-hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  a  direct  attack 
was  entirely  out  of  the  question,  and  to  turn  it  was  exceed 
ingly  difficult.  But  Grant  was  not  the  man  to  remain  long  in 
doubt  as  to  what  policy  to  pursue.  A  turning  movement  to 
wards  his  right,  avoiding  the  Wilderness,  throwing  him  into 
the  open  country,  and  more  directly  upon  the  rebel  lines  of 
communication,  seemed  to  promise  better  results  in  case  of 
immediate  success ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  would  carry  him 
away  from  his  own  communications  and  leave  him  in  greater 
danger  in  case  of  a  drawn  battle,  or  a  counter  attack  from 
the  enemy.  He  hoped  to  be  able  to  crush  Lee  at  a  single 
blow  or  at  most  in  a  few  days,  but  he  was  too  sagacious  to 
count  certainly  upon  this.  He  therefore  determined  to  move 
by  the  left  flank,  crossiag  the  Rapidan  by  the  lower  fords  and 


188  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

pushing  through  the  Wilderness  towards  the  open  country  in 
the  direction  of  Spottsylvania.  Accordingly  on  the  3d  of 
May  all  arrangements  having  been  perfected,  the  troops  fully 
equipped,  armed,  and  supplied  with  three  days'  cooked  ra 
tions,  the  cavalry  and  artillery  horses  newly  shod  and  the 
army  concentrated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Culpepper  and 
Brandy  Station,  he  issued  his  instructions  to  Meade  for  the 
movement  to  begin.  That  officer  arranged  the  details  as 
follows :  Wilson,  with  the  Third  cavalry  division,  about 
3,000  strong,  was  ordered  to  move  from  his  camp  near 
Stevensburg  at  one  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  May 
4th,  and  to  cross  the  Rapidan  at  Germania  Ford,  covering  the 
construction  of  a  pontoon  bridge  at  that  place  and  clearing  the 
way  for  the  infantry  of  Warren's  corps,  which  was  directed 
to  follow  close  upon  him.  As  soon  as  Warren's  advanced 
division  had  crossed  the  river,  Wilson  was  to  move  out  by 
the  old  Wilderness  Tavern  and  take  the  road  to  Parker's 
store,  scouting  the  country  in  all  directions  and  keeping  the 
infantry  informed  of  rebel  movements.  Sedgwick  was  di 
rected  to  follow  Warren,  keeping  close  up.  Gregg,  with  the 
Second  cavalry  division,  about  3,500  strong,  was  ordered  to 
move  at  the  same  time  to  Ely's  Ford,  still  lower  down  the 
river,  covering  the  march  and  clearing  the  way  for  Hancock's 
corps  towards  Chancellorsville.  Torbert  with  the  first  cav 
alry  division,  about  3,500  strong,  was  to  cover  the  trains  and 
the  rear  of  the  army ;  strongly  picketing  the  river  from 
Rapidan  Station  to  Germania  Ford,  and  holding  the  line  from 
Mitchell's  Station  to  Culpepper;  as  soon  as  the  crossing 
should  be  secured  he  was  directed  to  rejoin  Sheridan  at 
Chancellorsville. 

Precisely  at  midnight  the  movement  began.  Wilson's  ad 
vanced  guard  crossed  the  river  at  3.50,  A.  M.,  driving  back 
the  rebel  pickets,  and  by  six  o'clock  the  bridge  was  laid  and 
his  division  formed  in  line,  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  ford.* 

*  Swinton  incorrectly  states  that  the  passage  of  the  cavalry  began  at  six 
o'clock,  whereas  the  last  man  had  crossed  ten  minutes  before  six.  See  Gen 
eral  Wilson's  official  report. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GKAXT.  189 

Warren  began  crossing  soon  afterwards,  and  by  noon  his  ad 
vanced  division,  covered  by  the  cavalry,  had  reached  Wilder 
ness  Tavern,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Orange  Turnpike  and  the 
Germania  Ford  roads,  where  he  bivouacked  for  the  night, 
Sedgwick  kept  well  closed  up,  crossed  the  bridge  during  the 
afternoon,  and  encamped  before  dark  about  a  mile  beyond  the 
ford.  Hancock's  corps  reached  the  river  also  at  an  early 
hour  in  the  morning,  found  the  cavalry  across  and  the  bridge 
ready,  and  therefore  lost  but  little  time  in  following,  camp 
ing  for  the  night  on  Hooker's  old  battle-ground.  Neither 
column  had  encountered  the  enemy,  except  the  small  force  of 
pickets  which  had  been  watching  the  river.  These  were 
rapidly  driven  back  by  Wilson's  advance,  and  were  pursued 
by  a  small  force  as  far  as  Mine  Run.  The  country  was 
thoroughly  scouted  along  all  the  roads  leading  towards  the 
stream,  without  encountering  Lee's  forces  in  any  strength. 
The  crossing  was  evidently  a  surprise,  but  the  rebel  General 
was  in  no  manner  cast  down  by  it.  He  knew  that  he  could 
not  hold  the  line  of  the  Rapidan,  a  fordable  river,  so  strongly 
as  to  keep  it  intact,  and  therefore  wisely  held  his  army  con 
centrated  in  an  advantageous  position,  ready  to  strike  in  what 
ever  direction  circumstances  might  require.  His  pickets  gave 
him  timely  notice,  and  with  ready  determination  he  moved  to 
the  attack. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  May,  Grant's  army,  between 
90,000  and  100,000  strong,  lay  in  the  Wilderness  in  the 
following  order :  Wilson  at  Parker's  store,  Warren  and  Sedg 
wick  on  the  road  from  Germania  Ford  to  Wilderness  Tavern, 
Hancock  at  Chancellorsville,  Sheridan  with  Gregg  and  Tor- 
bert  near  by.  The  orders  of  the  day  did  not  contemplate  a 
battle,  although  the  troops  were  disposed  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  be  prepared  for  attack.  Wilson  was  directed  to  move 
at  five  o'clock  A.  M.  to  Craig's  meeting-house  on  the  Cathar- 
pen  road,  keeping  out  parties  on  the  Orange  Court  House 
pike  and  plank-road,  and  sending  scouts  well  out  on  all  the 
roads  to  the  south  and  west.  Warren  was  directed  to  move 
at  the  same  hour  to  Parker's  store,  extending  his  right  towards 


190  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Sedgwick,  who  was  to  move  to  old  Wilderness  Tavern  as 
soon  as  the  roads  were  clear.  Hancock  was  to  march  towards 
Shady  Grove  Church,  extending  his  right  towards  Warren's 
left  at  Parker's  store.  Sheridan,  with  Gregg  and  Torbert, 
was  directed  against  the  enemy's  cavalry  at  Hamilton  Cross 
ing.  Wilson  moved  promptly  at  the  hour  designated,  leaving 
the  Fifth  New  York  cavalry,  Colonel  John  Hammond  com 
manding,  to  hold  Parker's  store  till  relieved  by  Warren's  ad 
vance  ;  but  by  dawn  this  gallant  regiment  was  hotly  attacked, 
of  which  due  notice  was  given  to  the  troops  in  the  rear. 

Lee  had  taken  his  determination  to  fall  upon  Grant  while 
still  entangled  in  the  Wilderness,  and  during  the  night  put 
his  entire  army  in  motion  by  the  two  roads  leading  from  his 
position  to  Fredericksburg,  intersecting  the  roads  from  the 
Rapidan  to  Richmond  at  right  angles.  E well's  corps  was 
thrown  forward  on  the  old  turnpike,  and  Hill's  on  the  plank- 
road,  while  Longstreet's  corps,  which  had  occupied  the  ex 
treme  left  of  Lee's  line,  was  rapidly  withdrawn  from  Gor- 
donsville,  and  ordered  to  the  front.  The  two  armies  had 
bivouacked  within  five  or  six  miles  of  each  other,  and  both 
were  on  the  alert  at  an  early  hour. 

Griffin's  division  of  Warren's  corps  had  been  thrown  to  the 
right  of  old  Wilderness  Tavern  on  the  turnpike,  the  evening 
before,  relieving  the  cavalry,  and  posting  its  own  pickets  well 
out. 

Warren  had  hardly  got  his  column  in  motion  when  his  cov 
ering  division  was  attacked  with  great  vehemence,  his  pickets 
falling  back  rapidly.  His  orders  to  Crawford,  commanding 
his  advance  division,  were  to  push  forward  to  Parker's  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  but  that  officer,  although  informed  by 
Colonel  Mclntosh,  who  commanded  a  brigade  of  Wilson's 
division,  and  had  just  joined  Hammond's  hard  pressed  regi 
ment,  that  the  rebel  infantry  were  advancing  in  force,  moved 
*with  great  deliberation,  and  did  not  reach  Parker's  at  all. 
The  intensity  of  the  rebel  attack  in  the  meantime  had  in 
creased  to  such  a  pitch,  that  a  general  battle  was  now  cer 
tain.  Warren  lost  no  time  in  deploying  Wadsworth's  division 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  191 

abreast  of,  and  to  the  left  of  Griffin's  on  the  plank-road. 
Robinson's  division  was  held  in  reserve,  with  one  brigade  in 
line  on  Wadsworth's  left.  Wright's  division  of  the  Sixth 
corps,  was  also  ordered  into  position  on  the  right  of  this  line. 
With  this  force,  a  vigorous  attack  was  made  upon  the  ad 
vancing  rebels,  driving  them  back  rapidly  and  in  confusion ; 
the  heaviest  of  the  fighting  being  done  by  Ayers'  and  Bart- 
lett's  brigades.  But  Ewell's  leading  division  was  soon  sup 
ported  by  the  rest  of  his  corps,  and  in  turn  drove  back 
Warren's  entire  line.  The  woods  were  so  tangled  and  thick 
that  the  alignment  could  not  be  kept ;  Crawford's  division  was 
separated  from  Wadsworth,  and  the  latter  from  the  main 
force  arrived  on  the  turnpike ;  while  Wright,  for  a  similar 
reason,  found  it  impossible  to  bring  his  division  properly  to 
Warren's  support.  Under  such  circumstances,  these  sub 
divisions  of  his  command  were  unable  to  make  head  against 
the  force  bearing  down  upon  them,  although  they  struggled 
gallantly. 

Warren  had,  therefore,  nothing  to  do  but  to  withdraw  his 
troops  to  a  new  line  somewhat  to  the  rear  but  still  in  front  of 
Wilderness  Run.  Had  his  attack  been  properly  supported, 
Ewell  must  have  been  routed  before  assistance  could  have 
reached  him ;  but  this  was  a  matter  of  detail  which  Grant 
could  not,  in  person,  take  the  time  to  regulate.  As  it  was, 
the  force  of  Lee's  onset  was  broken,  and  his  object  dis 
covered.  It  was  now  certain  that  the  bulk  of  the  rebel 
army  was  in  our  front,  bent  upon  cutting  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  in  two,  and,  if  possible,  driving  it  to  the  north  side 
of  the  Rapidan. 

Grant  therefore  directed  Meade  to  recall  Hancock's  col 
umn,  which  had  moved  at  the  appointed  time,  southward  by 
the  way  of  Todd's  Tavern.  It  was  ordered  to  countermarch 
by  the  Brock  road,  and  take  position  on  Warren's  left.  In 
the  meantime,  Hill's  corps  moving  on  the  Orange  plank-road, 
had  encountered  Hammond's  regiment,  and,  after  a  severe 
engagement,  in  which  Colonels  Hammond  and  Mclntosh  be 
haved  with  great  gallantry,  had  driven  it  from  Parker's,  but 


192  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

not  till  Getty's  division  of  the  Sixth  corps  had  reached  the 
cross-roads,  four  miles  to  the  eastward,  and  put  itself  in  po 
sition  to  check  Hill's  advance.  The  intention  of  the  latter 
was  evidently  to  march  down  the  Orange  plank-road  till  he 
reached  the  Brock  road,  and  then  turning  to  the  northward 
to  throw  himself  upon  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  flank  of 
Grant's  army.  Fortunately  this  purpose  was  counteracted 
by  the  immovable  stand  made  by  Getty  at  the  intersection  of 
the  roads.  Hancock  reached  this  position  at  three  o'clock, 
and  after  beginning  the  construction  of  a  line  of  breastworks 
along  the  Brock  road,  he  was  ordered  to  advance  against  Hill 
and  if  possible  drive  him  beyond  the  position  at  Parker's 
store.  A  few  minutes  past  four  o'clock  the  attack  was  made 
in  fine  style  by  Getty's  division,  which  encountered  the  rebels 
in  great  strength  only  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  front.  Han 
cock  went  to  his  support  with  Birney's  and  Mott's  divisions, 
and  soon  afterwards  the  greater  part  of  Gibbon's  and  Bar 
low's  divisions,  with  all  the  artillery,  became  engaged,  press 
ing  forward  with  great  ardor ;  but  our  troops  could  not  carry 
the  rebel  position,  or  break  the  rebel  lines,  although  they  did 
not  relinquish  the  effort  until  after  nightfall. 

In  order  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  Hancock's  front,  and  to 
strike  Hill  on  the  flank,  Warren  was  directed  to  send  a  force 
from  his  left  towards  Parker's  store.  Wadsworth's  division 
and  Baxter's  brigade  were  selected,  and  began  the  movement 
at  about  four  o'clock,  but  they  experienced  such  difficulty  in 
penetrating  the  tangled  forest  that  it  was  dark  before  Wads- 
worth  could  make  himself  felt  by  the  enemy.  Wilson's  di 
vision,  in  the  meantime,  reached  Craig's  meeting-house  at  an 
early  hour  in  the  morning,  and  just  beyond  there  encountered 
the  rebel  cavalry  under  Stuart,  driving  it  rapidly  back  more 
than  a  mile.  His  ammunition  becoming  exhausted,  he  was  in 
turn  repulsed,  and  shortly  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  rebel 
infantry  had  dislodged  his  regiment  from  Parker's  store,  and 
interposed  between  him  the  main  army.  Uniting  his  division 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  he  struck  across  the  country,  and,  after 
severe  fighting,  succeeded  in  forming  a  junction  with  Gregg's 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  193 

division  at  Todd's  Tavern.  Sheridan,  having  learned  early 
in  the  day  that  the  rebel  cavalry  at  Hamilton  Crossing  had 
rejoined  Lee,  concentrated  his  corps  on  the  left  of  the  army, 
confronting  the  rebel  cavalry  under  Stuart,  defeating  all  his 
attempts  to  reach  our  trains,  and  holding  all  the  country  from 
Hancock's  left,  by  the  way  of  Todd's  Tavern,  to  Piney 
Branch  Church.  The  Ninth  corps,  under  Burnside,  had 
been  instructed  to  hold  a  position  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Rapidan  for  twenty-four  hours  after  the  army  had  crossed. 
It  was  now  ordered  to  the  front,  and,  after  a  long  and  fa 
tiguing  march,  reached  the  field  on  the  morning  of  the  6th, 
where  it  was  assigned  a  position  between  Warren  and  Han 
cock.  Longstreet  was  also  hastening  to  re-enforce  Lee. 

The  operations  of  the  5th,  as  has  been  seen,  were  of  some 
what  desultory  character,  the  principal  efforts  of  both  armies 
being  to  secure  a  position  for  delivering  battle  favorably.  It 
has  been  said  that  Grant's  moving  columns  were  surprised 
and  caught  in  flank,  but  this  is  not  so;  for  although  he  had 
hoped  to  get  through  the  Wilderness  before  encountering 
Lee,  he  had  disposed  of  his  forces  to  the  best  possible  advan 
tage,  in  anticipation  of  a  battle.  It  has  been  shown  that  the 
first,  and  even  the  second,  decided  attacks  were  made  by 
Grant's  forces,  and  not  by  Lee's. 

The  field  upon  which  the  contending  armies  were  concentra 
ted,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ever  known.  It  is  a 
wilderness  of  low  and  bristling  pines,  intermingled  with  scrub 
oaks  and  hazels,  whose  sombre  shade  is  relieved  only  at  dis 
tant  intervals  by  scanty  clearings  and  scrubby  openings.  The 
face  of  the  country  is  gently  undulating,  though  here  and 
there  cut  deeply  by  winding  brooks  which  flow  into  old 
Wilderness  Run.  The  roads  are  narrow  and  poor  and  very 
few.  Infantry  could  scarcely  force  its  way  through  the 
tangled  underbrush,  while  artillery  and  cavalry  were  entirely 
out  of  the  question,  except  when  opportunity  occurred  to 
move  them  by  the  roads.  No  tactics,  except  those  of  the  skir 
misher,  could  avail.  Maneuvering  was  impossible.  Neither 
officers  nor  men  could  see  fifty  paces  beyond  them.  The 


194  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Union  Generals  were  compelled  to  rely  exclusively  upon 
the  valor  of  their  men,  and  to  direct  the  battle  by  the  ear 
or  compass.  Lee,  on  the  other  hand,  having  fought  over  the 
same  ground,  was  familiar  with  its  peculiarities. 

Grant,  with  his  usual  aggressive  determination,  decided  to 
be  the  attacking  party  on  the  6th,  and  gave  his  instructions  to 
Meade  accordingly.  Lee  had  also  taken  the  resolution  to  be 
beforehand  with  offensive  movements ,  but  owing  to  the  delay 
of  Longstreet  in  joining  him,  he  was  compelled  to  defer  his 
attack  upon  Grant's  left,  and  occupied  the  first  hour  of  the 
morning  in  making  a  threatening  demonstration  along  the  front 
of  Sedgwick's  corps,  beginning  some  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
before  the  time  set  by  Grant  for  the  general  advance.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  Sedgwick  held  the  right,  Warren  and 
Burnside  the  centre,  and  Hancock  the  left,  covered  and  sup 
ported  on  the  extreme  left  and  rear  by  Sheridan's  cavalry. 
In  this  order  the  Union  troops  moved  to  the  attack.  Sey 
mour's  brigade  and  Kickett's  division  repulsed  the  rebel 
demonstration  readily,  while  the  rest  of  Sedgwick's  corps 
advanced  its  lines  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  without 
much  serious  opposition;  but  the  action  soon  became  hot, 
and  raged  with  desperation  at  intervals  throughout  the  day. 
Sedgwick  and  his  dfrlcers  did  all  in  their  power ;  but  the 
rebels,  who  had  fortified  their  position  during  the  day  and 
night  previous,  could  not  be  dislodged,  while  Warren's  corps, 
which  lay  across  the  Orange  Turnpike,  having  been  called 
upon  at  an  early  hour  to  send  two  divisions  to  assist  Hancock, 
could  give  Sedgwick  little  effective  help.  Lee,  it  seems,  had 
conceived  the  idea  of  crushing  Grant's  left  by  an  early  and 
overwhelming  attack,  but  before  he  could  make  his  disposi 
tion  for  carrying  this  plan  into  effect,  Hancock  promptly  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  advanced  with  his  two  right 
divisions,  and  Getty's  division  of  the  Sixth  corps,  along 
both  sides  of  the  Orange  plank-road,  striking  the  rebels 
within  a  few  hundred  paces,  and  sweeping  them  rapidly 
back  in  the  direction  of  Parker's  store.  Wadsworth  led 
his  division  of  the  Fifth  corps  forward  at  the  same  time. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  195 

After  an  hour's  most  desperate  fighting,  the  whole  rebel 
position  in  Hancock's  front  was  carried.  The  right  of  Hill's 
corps  was  driven  back  nearly  two  miles,  through  the  heavy 
woods;  his  artillery  and  trains  were  in  sight  of  the  triumph 
ant  soldiers  of  the  Union,  and  fortune  seemed  about  to  reward 
their  courage  and  endurance  with  a  complete  and  overwhelm 
ing  victory ;  when  Hancock  unwisely  called  a  halt  for  the  pur 
pose  of  reforming  his  scattered  but  exultant  battalions.  Two 
precious  hours  were  irrevocably  lost,  and  although  Hancock 
in  the  interval  was  re-enforced  by  Frank's  brigade  of  Bar 
low's  division,  Wadsworth's  division  of  the  Fifth  and  Steven 
son's  division  of  the  Ninth  corps,  when  he  again  assayed  to 
advance  and  complete  the  work  so  fortunately  begun,  he  met 
with  most  bitter  opposition.  The  rebel  leader  had  strength 
ened  his  imperilled  right  by  advancing  Anderson's  division ; 
he  had  also  despatched  most  urgent  orders  to  Longstreet  to 
quicken  his  already  rapid  march.  The  latter  had  been  previ 
ously  directed  to  throw  himself  strongly  against  Hancock's 
left,  but  was  now  ordered  to  hurry  to  the  support  of  Hill. 
Never  a  laggard  in  battle,  he  arrived  upon  the  field  before  the 
onset  was  renewed,  and,  taking  position  on  the  extreme  right 
of  the  rebel  line,  succeeded  in  retrieving  the  disasters  of  the 
morning. 

Gibbon  had  been  left  with  his  own  and  Barlow's  division 
to  hold  the  intersection  of  the  Brock  and  plank-roads,  and 
to  cover  the  flank  of  the  assailing  force  from  any  turning 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  enemy;  but  when  Hancock 
found  himself  so  far  advanced  on  the  right,  and  the  two 
wings  of  his  corps  separated  by  such  a  wide  interval,  he  or 
dered  Gibbon  also  to  advance.  That  officer,  apprehensive  of 
the  flank  movement  against  which  he  had  been  warned,  sent 
only  one  brigade  to  strengthen  the  advanced  line.  A  part  of 
Lee's  plan  was  for  Stuart  to  advance  al6*ng  the  Catharpen 
road,  and  to  fall  upon  Grant's  extreme  left.  This  movement 
began  at  an  early  hour,  but  was  frustrated  by  Sheridan  in  a 
gallant  fight  at  Todd's  Tavern,  the  sound  of  which,  however, 
was  borne  to  the  ears  of  Gibbon  and  Hancock,  and  increased 


196  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

their  apprehensions.  Under  these  circumstances,  almost  one- 
half  of  Hancock's  best  troops  were  paralyzed,  instead  of  be 
ing  thrown  with  crushing  violence  upon  the  already  shattered 
lines  of  Hill's  corps. 

This  apprehension  for  the  left  seems  to  have  been  fully 
shared  by  General  Meade ;  for  at  one  o'clock  he  notified  to 
Sheridan  that  Hancock  had  been  heavily  pressed  and  his  left 
turned,*  and  directed  that  the  cavalry  should  be  "  drawn  in" 
to  protect  the  trains.  Sheridan  complied  with  this  order  by 
moving  in  towards  Chancellorsville,  while  the  enemy  imme 
diately  occupied  Todd's  Tavern,  Piney  Branch  Church,  and 
the  Furnaces.  This  withdrawal  was  founded  upon  a  false 
report ;  but  it  nevertheless  gave  the  rebels  a  terrible  advan 
tage,  and  threw  the  entire  army  into  imminent  jeopardy.  On 
the  other  hand,  had  Hancock's  success  of  the  morning  been 
properly  supported  and  pushed  forward,  or  had  his  advanced 
position  been  strengthened  by  properly  constructed  entrench 
ments,  the  advantages  of  the  day  must  have  been  greatly  in 
our  favor,  if  they  had  not  ended  in  a  complete  victory. 

During  the  entire  forenoon  Longstreet's  corps  continued  to 
arrive  upon  the  field.  His  leading  division  had  enabled  Hill 
to  withstand  the  renewal  of  Hancock's  advance ;  and  now  it 
became  the  rebel  turn  to  press  forward  under  the  inspiring 
effect  of  success.  The  attack  fell  at  first  upon  Frank's  bri 
gade,  the  extreme  left  of  Hancock's  advanced  line,  which,  after 
making  the  best  resistance  possible,  was  completely  overrun. 
Mott's  division  then  received  the  shock  of  the  rebel  onset, 
then  Getty's,  and,  in  time,  the  entire  line  under  Hancock's 
personal  supervision,  including  Wadsworth's  division  of  War 
ren's  corps.  One  of  the  most  determined  and  bloody  strug 
gles  of  the  war  ensued ;  but  the  national  divisions,  in  spite 
of  the  heroic  efforts  of  men  and  officers,  were  gradually 
pressed  back  to  the  position  from  which  they  had  advanced 
at  dawn.  In  the  midst  of  the  struggle,  the  gallant  and  pa 
triotic  "Wadsworth  was  mortally  wounded,  and  fell  into  the 

*  Report  of  Major-General    Sheridan,  Conduct  of  the  War,  Supplement, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  19. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  197 

hands  of  the  enemy.  The  rebel  leaders  seemed  to  be  inspired 
with  a  perfect  frenzy  of  determination,  and  exposed  themselves 
fearlessly  wherever  the  action  was  hottest.  Longstreet  was 
severely  "wounded  and  carried  from  the  field  while  in  the  act  of 
completing;  his  dispositions  for  crushing  Hancock's  left.  Lee 
succeeded  him  in  the  personal  supervision  of  the  attack,  and 
again  hurled  Hill's  and  Longstreet's  corps  against  Hancock's 
sorely  tried  divisions,  now  fortunately  covered  by  the  entrench 
ments  along  the  Brock  road.  The  left  had  been  thrown  back 

O 

across  that  road,  fortified  and  strongly  re-enforced ;  and  had 
the  woods  not  taken  fire  in  front  of  the  line  during  the  final 
assault,  the  rebels  must  have  been  easily  repulsed.  As  it  was, 
they  dashed  through  the  flames  and  smoke,  and  a  few  of  the 
more  adventurous  succeeded  in  crossing  the  breastworks,  the 
defenders  of  which  fled  towards  Chancellorsville. 

This  success  was  short,  for  Carroll's  brigade,  then  in  re 
serve,  dashed  forward  in  gallant  style,  and  re-established  the 
line.  Night  closing  in,  the  battle  on  the  outer  flank  was  sus 
pended  ;  but  the  enemy,  massing  swiftly  on  his  left  under 
Gordon,  unexpectedly  assailed  Sedgwick's  corps  in  front  and 
flank,  with  great  fury,  overthrowing  Seymour's  and  Shaler's 
brigades,  and  taking  with  those  Generals  nearly  4,000  pris 
oners.  For  a  few  minutes  it  seemed  that  nothing  but  a  mira 
cle  could  save  the  army  ;  but  the  gallant  and  imperturbable 
Sedgwick  lost  no  time  in  throwing  back  his  right  and  re-es 
tablishing  his  corps  against  the  impetuous  but  disorderly 
onset  of  the  rebels.  The  darkness  of  night,  deepened  by  the 
impenetrable  shades  of  the  Wilderness,  put  an  end  to  the 
second  days'  battle.  The  loss  on  both  sides  had  been  un 
usually  heavy,  though  the  advantages  gained  were  greatly  in 
favor  of  the  national  army.  Lee  had  chosen  his  own  line  of 
attack,  and  made  his  plan  of  battle  with  the  intention  of 
forcing  Grant  back  upon  the  Rapidan  ;  but  before  the  first 
movement  could  be  made  he  was  foiled  by  Grant,  who  forced 
the  fighting  with  such  determination  as  to  seriously  threaten 
the  complete  destruction  of  Lee's  army  before  noon.  The 
sudden  and  overwhelming  onset  of  Hancock,  threw  Lee  es- 


198  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

sentially  upon  the  defensive,  in  which  attitude  he  remained 
during  the  remainder  of  the  campaign,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  he  resolutely  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity 
to  make   an  offensive  return,   and   to  re-establish   his  lines 
whenever   broken.      The    actual    result  of  Gordon's  attack 
upon  Sedgwick  was  insignificant,  with  the  exception  of  the 
damage  inflicted  upon  Grant's  army  by  the  loss  of  prisoners 
and  the  exaggerated  influence  it  produced  in  the  minds  of 
such  persons  as  had  a  longing  desire  for  an  encampment  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Rapidan.     Grant  himself  was  not  shaken 
in  his  purpose.     He  knew  that  if  he  had  not  defeated  Lee,  he 
had  at  least  not  suffered  defeat ;  and  as  it  had  never  been  his 
custom  to  rest  content  with  a  drawn  battle,  it  did  not  occur  to 
him  that  there  was  anything  else  to  be  done  but  to  go  ahead. 
In  most  accounts  of  the  two  days  in  the  Wilderness,  Sher 
idan's  operations  are  hardly  mentioned,  although  it  has  been 
seen  that  they  had  an  important  influence  upon  the  course  of 
events.     Had  not  the  march  of  the  rebel  infantry  along  the 
Orange  plank-road  been  checked  at  Parker's  store  by  Mcln- 
tosh,  and  had  not  the  movement  of  the  rebel  cavalry  under 
Stuart  on  the  Catharpen  road  been  foiled  by  the  actions  at 
Craig's  meeting-house  and  Todd's  Tavern,  under  Wilson  and 
Gregg,  the  result  of  the  second  day's  battle  might  have  been 
entirely  different.     Stuart  would  have  turned  the  left  of  Han 
cock's  line,  fallen  upon  our  trains  and  rear,  and,  in  some  de 
gree,  accomplished  what  Longstreet  aimed  at  by  his  move 
ment  against  the  Brock  road.     The  most  prominent  feature, 
however,  of  the  actions  in  the  Wilderness,  was  the  overthrow 
of  the  rebel  right  by  Hancock,  Getty,  and  Wadsworth,  the 
loss  of  the  advantage  due  to  this  fortunate  movement  by  an 
apprehension  for  our  left  and  the  great  difficulty  of  maintaining 
a  close  and  orderly  array.     The  return  of  the  rebels  re-en 
forced  by  Longstreet,  and  the  assault  upon  Sedgwick's  right, 
were  subordinate  incidents,  grave  enough  in  their  character, 
and,  to  a  General  of  less  'resolute  temper,  or  duller  perception 
than  Grant,  might  have  been  looked  upon  as  a  sufficient  rea 
son  for  relinquishing  the  campaign  in  its  outset. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  199 

It  has  been  asserted  that  in  this  battle  Grant  made  little  ac 
count  of  those  arts  that  accomplish  results  by  the  direction 
and  combination  of  forces,  and  that  he  avowedly  despised 
maneuvering  at  that  period,  relying  exclusively  on  the  appli 
cation  of  brute  masses  in  rapid  and  remorseless  blows  ;  *  but 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  dense  forest  in  which  he  was 
compelled  to  give  battle,  was  an  unknown  region  through 
which  no  vision  could  penetrate,  and  in  which  no  tactical  or 
strategic  skill  could  be  made  available,  it  will  be  sufficiently 
understood  why  he  was  unable  to  avail  himself  of  the  suc 
cesses  which  followed  his  first  combinations.  But  this  battle 
is  not  to  be  judged  by  ordinary  rules.  It  was  probably  the 
strangest  ever  fought.  The  maneuvers  by  which  it  was  in 
troduced,  and  the  direction  of  the  forces  as  they  plunged  into 
the  Wilderness,  could  not  have  been  more  advantageously  or 
brilliantly  combined ;  and  without  referring  to  the  strategy  of 
Vicksburg  and  Chattanooga,  they  are  a  sufficient  answer  to  the 
criticism  just  mentioned.  General  Grant  may  indeed  have 
said,  as  alleged,  that  he  never  maneuvered  ;  but  if  so,  it  may 
fairly  be  assumed  that  the  remark  was  intended  as  a  rebuke 
to  the  empty  spirit  of  pedantry  at  one  time  so  common  in  that 
army,  and  under  the  influence  of  which  it  had  too  frequently 
striven  to  avoid  battle,  or  had  lost  opportunities  which,  with 
more  action  and  less  theory,  might  have  led  to  victory  and  to 
good  fortune.  It  is  well  known,  however,  that  in  the  Wilder 
ness,  as  everywhere  else  during  the  overland  campaign,  the 
tactics,  whatever  may  have  been  their  merit  or  demerit,  were 
Meade's ;  while  the  heroic  resolution  which  carried  the  army 
through  "  the  region  of  gloom  and  the  shadow  of  death," 
was  Grant's.  It  was  no  blind  faith  in  the  policy  of  "ham 
mering  continuously,"  nor  lack  of  faith  in  judicious  combi 
nations,  which  saved  the  army  from  the  perils  that  beset  it  in 
that  "  battle  which  no  man  could  see."  Grant  knew  that  the 
battle  had  not  been  fought  through,  and  was  confident  that, 
uncovered  by  breastworks,  upon  a  fair  field,  his  army  was  su 
perior  to  Lee's,  and  he  was  morally  certain  that  it  had  suf- 
*  Swinton's  "  Army  of  the  Potomac." 


200  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

fered  proportionally  no  more  than  Lee's  in  the  two  days' 
death-grapple  which  it  had  passed  through.  But,  more  than 
all,  he  felt  that  the  country  stood  in  absolute  need  of  victory, 
and,  like  a  true  citizen,  he  determined  that  it  should  not  be  dis 
appointed,  no  matter  what  the  cost.  To  prove  that  Grant  did 
not  miscalculate,  it  is  only  necessary  to  point  to  the  result. 
At  no  time  after  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  did  Lee  show 
the  boldness  which  had  previously  characterized  him ;  for  he 
had  learned  a  lesson  in  the  preliminary  struggle  that  he  could 
never  forget.  He  had  found  his  superior  in  pluck  and  gen 
eralship,  and  ever  afterwards  played  his  game  as  warily  as 
if  he  felt  a  prophetic  certainty  that  defeat  must  eventually 
overtake  him  as  well  as  the  cause  he  was  upholding.  The 
days  of  rapid  maneuvering  in  which  he  commanded  both 
armies,  had  passed,  and  there  was  nothing  left  him  but  to 
conform  to  the  irrevocable  decrees  of  fate. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  at  last  found  its  hero,  who, 
clear  of  head,  stout  of  heart,  loyal,  true,  and  brave,  was  des 
tined  to  hold  it  to  the  work  of  National  salvation  till  the  rebel 
power  should  be  broken  and  destroyed,  and  Richmond,  like 
another  Vicksburg,  should  fall  before  his  unrelenting  blows. 
There  are  many  who  well  remember  the  night  of  the  6th  of 
May,  when  a  terrible  disaster  seemed  about  to  overwhelm  us, 
and  it  was  whispered  with  bated  breath  that  we  should  be 
compelled  to  retreat  by  obscure  roads  and  difficult  fords  to 
the  north  side  of  the  Eapidan.  The  turning  of  the  Sixth 
corps  introduced  one  of  those  crises  calculated  to  shake  the 
fortitude  of  the  stoutest  heart,  and  upon  which,  it  is  not  too 
much  to  assert,  the  success  of  our  cause  depended  with  trem 
ulous  uncertainty.  A  single  blunder,  or  a  moment's  hesita 
tion,  would  have  covered  the  army  with  disgrace.  The  situ 
ation  was  such  as  to  demand  every  heroic  quality  in  the  com 
mander  whose  shoulders  were  required  to  bear  the  burthen  of 
that  perilous  emergency;  and  when  Grant,  surpassing  the 
steadiness  indicated  by  the  hereditary  motto  of  his  clan, — 
"Stand  fast:  Craig:  Ellachie!" — with  that  restrained  but  in- 

o 

domitable  resolution  which  has  never  failed  him,  gave  utter- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  201 

ance  to  the  order :  "  Forward  to  Spottsylvania ! "  there  was  not 
a  heroic  nature  in  all  that  host  but  felt  its  troubles  lightened. 
Every  true  soldier  knew  by  instinct  that  the  greatest  danger 
had  past.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  that  moment  en 
tered  upon  a  new  career ;  hitherto  it  had  in  no  single  instance 
fought  its  battle  through,  or  reaped  the  legitimate  fruits  of 
the  contest ;  but  henceforth  it  was  destined  never  to  turn 
back,  or  to  rest  in  the  struggle  till  crowned  with  the  laurels  of 
victory.  From  that  day  forth,  although  baffled,  delayed,  and 
staggered,  it  held  its  way  onward  through  the  terrible  times  of 
Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  Tolopotomoy,  Cold  Harbor,  and 
the  investment  of  Petersburg,  sternly  and  courageously  for  a 
whole  year,  meeting  the  enemy  in  almost  daily  battle.  It  is 
true  that  the  wisest  sometimes  doubted,  and  the  hearts  of  the 
bravest  occasionally  grew  faint  and  despondent, — but  the  army 
gloriously  responded  to  the  call  of  duty ;  and  yet  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  without  a  greater  quality  than  the  discipline 
and  organization  for  which  it  has  been  so  justly  lauded,  even 
Grant  himself  could  not  have  led  it  through  such  a  campaign 
to  its  final  triumph.  The  spirit  of  the  people  living  in  its 
ranks,  answered  the  call  of  its  leader,  and  carried  it  still 
onward,  when  discipline  alone  was  powerless. 


CHAPTEK    XXII. 

THE  REBELS  RETIRE  TO  THEIR  FORTIFICATIONS — THE  UNION  ARMY 
TURNS  TOWARDS  SPOTTSYLVANIA — LEE  FORTIFIES  AT  SPOTTSYL- 
VANIA — SHERIDAN  IN  QUEST  OF  THE  REBEL  CAVALRY — THE  POSI 
TIONS  OF  GRANT  AND  LEE — DEATH  OF  GENERAL  SEDGWICK — THE 
ASSAULT  OF  COLONEL  UPTON — GRANT'S  BULLETIN  TO  THE  WAR 
DEPARTMENT — CONTINUED  SKIRMISHING — HANCOCK'S  SUCCESS — 
SEVERE  FIGHTING — MANEUVERING — SHERIDAN  ON  A  RAID — DE 
STROYS  RAILROADS,  STORES,  ETC. 

AT  an  early  hour  on  the  7th  of  May,  Grant  threw  forward 
his  skirmishers  to  ascertain  the  movements  of  the  enemy ; 
while  Sheridan  dispatched"  Wilson's  division  from  Chancel- 
lorsville  towards  Germania  Ford,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer 
taining  whether  any  part  of  the  insurgent  force  had  interposed 
itself  between  Sedgwick  and  the  river.  By  these  means  it 
was  soon  ascertained  that  the  rebels  had  retired  to  their  for 
tified  line,  and  no  longer  courted  battle.  The  trains,  in  the 
meantime,  had  been  collected  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chan- 
cellorsville,  and  at  an  early  hour  were  ordered  to  move  to 
Piney  Branch  Church ;  but  as  this  point  and  Todd's  Tavern 
were  both  held  by  the  rebel  cavalry,  Sheridan  parked  the 
trains  on  the  road  toward  Fredericksburg,  and  proceeded 
with  Gregg's  and  Merritt's*  divisions  to  drive  back  Stuart's 
horse,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing  after  a  severe  engagement 
at  Todd's  Tavern.  At  three  o'clock  P.  M.,  Meade  issued  the 
detailed  orders  for  the  movement  of  the  army  towards  Spott- 
sylvania,  beginning  after  nightfall,  Warren  withdrawing  first, 
moving  by  the  Brock  road  and  Todd's  Tavern,  followed  closely 
by  Hancock ;  while  Sedgwick  and  Burnside  were  ordered  to 
move  by  Chancellorsville  and  Piney  Branch  Church.  Sheri- 
*  The  latter  temporarily  commanded  by  General  Torbert. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.    GUAM1.  203 

dan  was  instructed  to  keep  a  proper  force  well  out  in  front  of 
the  exposed  flank  of  the  army.  It  was  hoped  that  this  move 
ment  would  be  made  with  such  rapidity  as  to  concentrate  the 
army  at  Spottsylvania  by  an  early  hour  in  the  morning ;  but 
for  a  variety  of  reasons  this  expectation  was  not  realized. 
The  average  distance  to  be  marched  did  not  exceed  twelve 

D 

miles  ;  but  the  troops  never  marched  more  slowly.  Warren 
was  delayed  by  General  Meade's  escort,  and  finally,  it  is 
claimed,  by  Merritt,  with  the  first  cavalry  division ;  but  no 
such  excuse  can  be  given  for  the  failure  of  the  left  column 
to  reach  the  designated  point  upon  which  it  was  directed. 
Sheridan  ordered  Wilson  to  march  at  five  o'clock  A.  M.,  by 
the  way  of  Alsop's  to  the  Fredericksburg  road,  to  cross  the 
Ny  River,  and  then  to  push  forward  to  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  forming  a  junction  with  Gregg  and  Merritt  at  Snell's 
Bridge.*  It  was  understood,  and  Wilson  was  informed,  that 
Burnside  would  follow  closely  upon  the  same  route.  The 
former,  therefore,  marched  with  great  celerity,  meeting  with 
no  resistance  till  he  reached  the  crossing  of  the  Ny,  where  he 
found  a  cavalry  picket ;  but,  brushing  it  promptly  out  of  the 
way,  he  dashed  across  the  stream,  and  pushed  rapidly  towards 
the  Court  House,  where  he  encountered  and  dispersed  Wick- 
hams  brigade  of  cavalry.  Hearing  heavy  musketry  to  the 
northward  on  the  roads  to  Todd's  Tavern  and  Piney  Branch 
Church,  he  held  the  cross-roads  at  the  Court  House  with  one 
brigade,  and  marched  in  the  direction  of  the  fio-htino;  with 

O  '  O  O 

*NOTE. — "Had  these  movements  been  carried  out  successfully,  it  would 
probably  have  sufficiently  delayed  the  march  of  the  enemy  to  Spottsylvania 
Court  House  as  to  enable  our  infantry  to  reach  that  point  first,  and  the  battles 
fought  there  would  have  probably  occurred  elsewhere ;  but  upon  the  arrival 
of  General  Meade  at  Todd's  Tavern  the  orders  were  changed,  and  Gregg  was 
simply  directed  by  him  to  hold  Corbin's  Bridge,  and  Merritt's  division  ordered 
in  front  of  the  infantry  column,  marching  on  the  road  to  Spottsylvania.  In 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  the  cavalry  and  infantry  becoming  entangled  in  the 
advance,  caused  much  confusion  and  delay.  I  was  not  duly  advised  of  these 
changes,  and  for  a  time  had  fears  for  the  safety  of  General  Wilson's  command, 
which  had  proceeded,  in  accordance  with  my  instructions,  to  Spottsylvania, 
capturing  and  holding  it  till  driven  out  by  the  advance  of  Longstreet's  corps." 
Report  of  Major- General  Sheridan,  Supplemental  Report  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  19. 


204  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

the  other,  but  had  not  proceeded  more  than  a  half  or  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  before  his  advance  found  itself  behind  a 
line  of  the  rebel  infantry,  which  it  assailed,  capturing  prison 
ers  from  two  divisions  of  Longstreet's  corps,  and  recapturing 
some  of  Warren's  men  who  had  just  been  taken.  At  this 
juncture  of  affairs,  the  arrival  of  one  of  Burnside's  divisions 
would  have  given  Grant  firm  possession  of  Spottsylvania, 
besides  enabling  him  to  crush  Longstreet  by  an  attack  front 
and  rear;  but,  for  some  reason  not  sufficiently  explained, 
Meade  had,  in  the  meantime,  suspended  the  entire  movement. 
Upon  learning  this,  Sheridan  ordered  Wilson  to  withdraw 
from  Spottsylvania,  and  to  rejoin  the  army  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Ny. 

The  column  on  the  Brock  road  led  by  Merritt's  division 
was  strongly  resisted  by  Stuart's  cavalry,  which  had  been 
driven  back  several  miles  the  day  before,  but  which  still 
maintained  a  determined  front.  Merritt,  weakened  by  the 
detachment  of  Gregg,  made  but  slow  progress  in  advancing 
through  the  heavily  wooded  country,  and  after  several  hours' 
hard  work  was  relieved  by  Warren's  leading  division,  under 
Robinson.  The  rebel  cavalry  in  falling  back  had  taken  the 
precaution  to  barricade  the  roads,  so  that  Robinson's  advance 
was  not  made  with  any  remarkable  rapidity.  However,  about 
eight  o'clock,  A.  M.,  it  reached  an  open  field  nearly  two  miles 
north  of  the  Court  House,  with  rising,  heavily  wooded  ground 
beyond,  upon  which  the  enemy  was  seen  to  be  in  considerable 
force.  Hastily  forming  his  troops,  Robinson,  assisted  by 
Warren  in  person,  advanced  to  the  attack,  but  had  not  suc 
ceeded  in  crossing  half  the  open  space  before  he  received  a 
terrible  fire  of  musketry,  which  threw  the  entire  division  into 
great  confusion;  General  Robinson  was  severely  wounded. 
Neither  officers  nor  men  expected  to  be  met  so  soon  by  their 
old  antagonists  of  the  Wilderness,  and  hence  fell  back  with 
out  delay  to  the  woods  from  which  they  had  advanced,  and 
where  it  was  difficult  to  halt  and  reform  them.  Griffin's  di 
vision,  which  had  been  thrown  forward  on  Robinson's  right, 
received  the  same  unexpected  greeting,  and  also  fell  back. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  205 

Crawford's  division  and  Cutler's  (formerly  Wads  worth's), 
were  hurried  forward,  and  succeeded,  after  some  sharp  fight 
ing,  in  carrying  a  part  of  the  rebel  position,  thus  relieving  the 
pressure  against  Robinson  and  Griffin. 

The  corps  was  now  developed,  and  involuntarily  fell  to  en 
trenching.  The  force  which  had  thus  checked  Warren  and 
paralyzed  the  entire  movement  against  Spottsylvania,  was 
the  advanced  division  of  Longstreet's  corps,  which  had  just 
arrived.  It  was  not  till  some  hours  afterwards  that  Lee 
fully  discovered  the  extent  and  scope  of  Grant's  southward 
march,  and  not  till  night  that  he  had  succeeded  in  concen 
trating  his  army  in  front  of  Spottsylvania.  In  the  meantime, 
Meade  had  become  alarmed  for  his  right  flank  and  rear,  and 
had  halted  Hancock  at  Todd's  Tavern  for  the  purpose  of 
resisting  any  movement  along  the  Catharpen  road.  Sedg- 
wick,  who  had  closed  upon  Warren  and  put  a  part  of  his 
corps  into  position  facing  the  new  rebel  front,  late  in  the 
afternoon  decided  to  make  an  attack,  and  gave  orders  to  that 
effect ;  but  the  attack  was  made  by  an  insufficient  force,  con 
sisting  of  the  New  Jersey  brigade  and  Crawford's  division. 
The  former  was  repulsed,  but  the  latter  caught  a  part  of 
Swell's  corps  in  flank,  and  drove  it  rapidly  for  some  distance, 
capturing  a  hundred  prisoners  and  one  flag.  Burnside  and 
Hancock  did  no  fighting  whatever,  so  that  between  fortifying 
in  front  and  watching  for  the  rebels  in  flank  and  rear,  Leo 
was  quietly  suffered  to  march  by  the  nearest  route,  and  put 
his  army  directly  in  the  road  along  which  Grant  wished  to 
march.  The  rebel  commander  showed  no  desire  to  take  the 
offensive  in  any  manner  whatever,  but  fell  to  work  rapidly 
and  silently  to  fortify  the  ridges  lying  about  Spottsylvania, 
which  were  to  become  his  new  bulwark  of  defense.  Fortune, 
and  the  slow  marching  of  the  national  troops,  had  favored 
him  more  than  he  ought  to  have  expected;  the  shovels, 
picks,  and  axes  of  his  men  did  the  rest  towards  preparing 
Spottsylvania  for  the  desperate  struggle  about  to  burst  upon 
its  quiet  and  hitherto  peaceful  surroundings. 

On  Monday,  the  9th  of  May,  Sheridan,  with  all  the  cavalry, 


206  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

was  despatched  upon  a  movement  towards  Richmond  in  quest 
of  the  rebel  horse,  and  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  Lee's  com 
munications  with  the  rear ;  while  the  four  corps  of  infantry 
took  up  their  position  in  the  general  line  already  determined 
by  the  events  of  the  preceding  day.  Hancock,  marching  to 
the  field  by  the  road  from  Todd's  Tavern,  went  to  Warren's 
right,  and  formed  the  right  of  the  Union  line  on  high  ground 
overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Po.  Sedgwick  was  already  on 
Warren's  left,  and  Burnside,  crossing  the  Ny,  near  the  road 
upon  which  he  was  originally  expected  to  move,  formed  the 
left  of  the  line,  on  a  ridge  conforming  to  one  of  the  branches 
of  the  Ny.  Lee  had  formed  his  army  along  the  irregular 
ridge  separating  the  vallies  of  the  Ny  and  Po,  and  sweeping 
around  Spottsylvania  on  the  arc  of  a  circle,  covering  all  the 
roads  centering  at  that  place.  Longstreet  held  the  left,  Ewell 
the  center,  and  Hill  the  right.  The  contending  lines  were 
drawn  so  closely  to  each  other  that  no  advance  could  take 
place  on  either  side  without  bringing  on  a  battle.  Neither 
army  lost  time  in  fortifying  its  position,  but  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  usual  fusillade  kept  up  by  the  skirmishers,  no 
fighting  took  place  during  the  day.  Lee  rested  content  with 
holding  himself  ready  to  repel  attack,  while  Grant  and  his 
subordinates  were  eagerly  seeking  for  a  flaw  or  a  weak  point  in 
the  enemy's  well  established  lines,  through  which  an  effective 
blow  might  be  struck.  During  the  afternoon,  while  engaged 
in  examining  the  rebel  lines  from  an  advanced  part  of  his 
own,  General  Sedgwick,  commanding  the  Sixth  corps,  was 
killed  by  a  rebel  rifle  shot,  which  struck  him  full  in  the  face. 
He  had  just  been  bantering  the  men  near  him  for  seeking 
cover  behind  their  parapets,  as  the  rebel  bullets  were  whis 
tling  over  them,  when  he  received  the  fatal  blow.  This  unfor 
tunate  event  caused  the  most  profound  grief  throughout  the 
army,  as  well  as  in  his  own  corps,  for  he  was  not  only  regarded 
as  one  of  the  best,  bravest,  and  most  discreet  commanders, 
but  was  generally  beloved  for  his  rare  personal  qualities.  He 
was  justly  respected  as  the  Thomas  of  the  Eastern  armies ; 
endowed  with  every  manly  and  soldierly  quality,  ripe  in  ex- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  207 

pericnce,  brave  and  skillful  in  battle,  patient  and  regular  on 
the  march,  and  full  of  ardent  zeal  for  the  cause  of  his  country. 
His  death  was  looked  upon  by  Grant  as  a  greater  disaster  than 
the  loss  of  an  entire  division  of  troops  would  have  been.  He 
was  succeeded  in  command  of  the  Sixth  corps,  by  General 
H.  G.  Wright,  an  officer  of  experience  and  ability. 

During  the  afternoon,  a  rebel  wagon  train  was  observed 
moving  southward  towards  Spottsylvania ;  and  as  the  road 
was  not  far  from  Hancock's  right,  he  was  directed  to  cross 
the  Po,  and  after  capturing  the  train,  to  try  that  flank  of  the 
rebel  line.  The  movement  began  at  once ;  and  although  the 
stream  was  crossed  without  any  material  difficulty  or  delay, 
night  set  in  before  a  blow  could  be  struck.  In  the  meantime 
the  wagon  train  escaped,  but  at  an  early  hour  the  next  day 
the  movement  against  the  rebel  left  was  continued.  The  en 
tire  army  was  now  in  position,  and  batteries  were  established, 
and  the  lines  well  entrenched.  Hancock  had  not  gone  far 
before  he  found  himself  stopped  by  the  deep  vallies  of  an 
affluent  of  the  Po,  beyond  which  the  enemy  was  posted  in 
great  strength.  Throwing  forward  Brooks'  brigade  still 
farther  to  the  right,  he  crossed,  and  began  an  attempt  to  de 
velop  the  rebel  position  and  strength.  In  the  meantime  it 
had  also  been  decided  to  make  an  assault  upon  the  rebel 
works  in  front  of  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps.  Hancock's 
movement  was  accordingly  suspended,  and  two  divisions  of 
his  corps  were  ordered  to  recross  the  Po,  for  the  purpose  of 
joining  in  the  assault.  In  obedience  to  this  order,  Gibbon 
and  Birney  were  withdrawn,  leaving  Barlow  to  hold  the 
advanced  position  already  gained,  and  to  cover  the  retrograde 
movement.  The  rebels,  however,  were  not  slow  to  perceive 
this  withdrawal,  and  therefore  hastened  to  attack  the  rear  of 
Birncy's  column.  Fearing  to  isolate  any  part  of  his  corps, 
Hancock  then  decided  to  withdraw  Barlow  also,  whose  skir 
mishers  had  already  been  attacked  and  pressed  back.  The 
rebels  seemed  to  be  inspired  by  what  they  looked  upon  as  a 
forced  retreat  of  the  troops  confronting  them,  and  made  a 
decided  attack  upon  this  division,  but  met  with  a  severe  and 


208  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

bloody  repulse.  The  woods  taking  fire  complicated  the  dif 
ficulties  surrounding  Hancock's  rear,  but  the  withdrawal  was 
finally  effected  in  good  order,  though  many  of  the  wounded 
were  left  behind,  to  perish  in  the  flames  or  to  languish  in 
rebel  hospitals. 

The  principal  point  of  attack  in  Warren's  front,  was  a 
densely  wooded  ridge  which  the  rebels  had  occupied  and 
strongly  fortified.  During  the  morning,  Gibbon's  division  of 
Hancock's  corps  had  this  position,  but  was  repulsed  with 
severe  loss.  At  three  o'clock  P.  M.,  Crawford's  and  Cutler's 
divisions  of  Warren's  corps  made  a  strong  demonstration 
against  the  same  point,  but  with  no  better  fortune.  So  far 
the  operations  of  the  day  had  resulted  in  no  substantial  ad 
vantage  to  the  national  arms  except  a  tolerable  understanding 
of  the  rebel  position  and  its  capability  of  defense.  A  weak 
point  had  been  discovered  in  front  of  Russell's  division  of  the 
Sixth  corps,  and  a  column  of  twelve  picked  regiments,  under 
command  of  Colonel  Emory  Upton,  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Twentieth  New  York,  an  exceedingly  able  and  intrepid  young 
officer  of  the  regular  army,  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
assaulting  this  part  of  the  rebel  line ;  Hancock  and  Warren 
were  informed  that  this-  assault  would  be  made,  and  were  di 
rected  to  support  it  with  their  entire  corps.  The  remainder 
of  the  Sixth  corps  had  similar  orders.  Upton  made  his  dispo 
sitions  with  great  care  and  discretion — instructed  his  officers 
and  men  minutely  in  the  course  they  were  to  pursue  during 
the  charge,  and  also  after  the  works  should  be  carried,  formed 
his  battalions  in  column,  and  about  five  o'clock  led  them 
gallantly  to  the  attack. 

So  carefully  had  all  his  plans  been  made,  and  so  suddenly 
and  coherently  were  they  carried  into  effect,  that  the  rebel 
lines  were  completely  broken,  and  several  guns  and  nearly  a 
thousand  prisoners  were  taken.  The  success  of  the  attack  was 
all  that  could  be  wished,  but  the  intrepid  young  commander 
was  not  satisfied  with  holding  the  works  he  had  captured. 
He  knew  too  well  that  the  rebels  would  fall  upon  him  in 
tremendous  force  if  he  allowed  them  time  to  reform  their  dis- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  209 

ordered  ranks ;  he  therefore  turned  at  once  to  the  right  and 
left  along  their  entrenchments,  wrapping  up  and  driving  back 
the  rebels  holding  them.  The  operation  seemed  to  promise  a 
complete  victory,  but  unfortunately  the  Generals  whose  busi 
ness  it  was  to  support  the  movement,  did  not  lead  their 
divisions  forward  until  it  was  too  late.  Nobody  but  Grant 
and  Upton  appeared  to  have  any  confidence  that  the  rebel 
works  could  be  carried,  and  therefore  nobody  but  Upton  was 
ready  for  the  part  assigned  him.  The  balky  team  could  not 
be  made  to  pull  together,  and  hence  Upton,  after  holding 
what  he  had  gained  till  dark,  was  finally  compelled  to  fall 
back  to  his  own  works.  Thus  a  splendid  opportunity  was 
lost.  Shortly  afterwards,  Hancock  and  Warren  both  led 
their  corps  bravely  forward  upon  other  and  unshaken  sec 
tions  of  the  rebel  line,  and  although  the  men  did  all  in  their 
power  to  carry  their  standards  into  the  rebel  stronghold,  they 
were  compelled  to  relinquish  the  attempt,  after  having  suf 
fered  heavily  in  killed  and  wounded,  Generals  J.  C.  Rice 
and  T.  G.  Stevenson  being  among  the  former.  The  assaults 
were  renewed  an  hour  later,  in  the  vain  hope  that  they 
might  be  simultaneous,  and  result  in  victory,  but  this  was 
not  to  be.  The  close  of  the  day's  fighting  found  the  two 
hosts  holding  substantially  the  same  positions  they  held  in 
the  morning,  but  Grant's  confidence,  although  sorely  tried, 
remained  unshaken.  He  saw  that  the  rebel  lines  when  prop 
erly  attacked  could  be  broken,  that  the  men  composing  the 
army,  whenever  well  led,  acquitted  themselves  with  courage 
and  resolution,  and  he  therefore  felt  confident  that  success 
must  ultimately  crown  their  exertions.  At  eight  o'clock,  on 
the  llth  of  May,  he  sent  to  the  War  Department  the  follow 
ing  characteristic  bulletin :  "  We  have  ended  the  sixth  day 
of  very  heavy  fighting.  The  result  to  this  time  is  much  in 
our  favor.  Our  losses  have  been  heavy,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  enemy.  I  think  the  loss  of  the  enemy  must  be  greater. 
We  have  taken  5,000  prisoners  by  battle,  whilst  he  has  taken 
from  us  but  few  except  stragglers.  I  propose  to  fight  it  out  on 

this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer." 
14 


210  LTFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Fight  it  out  he  did,  bravely,  persistently,  and  patiently, 
against  opposition  and  resistance  which  might  well  have 
shaken  even  his  iron  determination. 

On  the  llth  there  was  no  general  engagement,  but  continu 
ous  skirmishing  was  kept  up  and  much  time  was  devoted  to 
reconnoitering  the  enemy's  lines  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  weak 
place  in  them.  Hitherto  the  attack  had  been  principally 
against  Lee's  left  and  left  centre,  but  it  was  now  determined 
to  attack  farther  towards  his  right,  where  his  lines  made  a 
strong  salient.  During  the  dark  and  stormy  night  of  the 
llth,  Hancock's  corps  drew  out  from  its  old  entrenchments, 
and  passing  in  rear  of  the  Sixth  corps  went  into  position 
about  midway  between  the  Piney  branch  and  Fredericksburg 
roads,  some  twelve  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  rebel  works 
which  it  was  required  to  storm.  Hancock  massed  his  corps 
as  follows :  Barlow's  division,  formed  by  brigade  in  regimental 
columns,  doubled  on  the  center,  with  Birney's  division  de 
ployed  in  double  lines,  constituted  the  front  of  attack ;  Mott's 
division  supported  Birney,  while  Gibbon's  division  was  held 
in  reserve.  The  direction  was  given  by  the  point  of  the  com 
pass,  and  at  dawn  on  the  morning  of  May  12th,  the  advan 
cing  columns  emerged  from  the  woods  and  without  stopping  to 
fire  a  shot  marched  at  quick  time  against  the  enemy.  When 
nearly  half  way  towards  the  hostile  line,  the  gallant  veterans 
of  the  Second  corps  burst  forth  with  a  thundering  cheer,  and 
taking  the  double  quick,  pushed  rapidly  forward  to  the  abattis, 
tearing  it  away,  and  rolling  across  the  entrenchments  beyond 
with  an  irresistible  impulse.  The  rebels  were  taken  by  sur 
prise  but  they  rushed  to  their  arms  and  made  a  gallant  but 
ineffectual  defense.  Birney  and  Barlow  crossed  their  works 
almost  simultaneously,  and  after  a  desperate  battle  with  bay 
onet,  clubbed  musket,  and  rifle  shot,  established  themselves 
firmly  in  the  rebel  stronghold.  They  captured  thirty  field 
guns,  two  rebel  Generals,  and  something  over  3,000  prisoners. 
Hancock,  after  apprising  Grant  of  his  success,  pushed  forward 
in  the  hope  of  cutting  the  rebel  army  entirely  in  two,  and 
completing  the  victory.  He  had  struck  Lee  a  staggering 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  211 

blow  and  another  such  would  annihilate  the  rebel  army  of 
North  Virginia.  But  the  surprise  was  now  over;  and  al 
though  the  victors  were  inspired  by  success  and  pushing  for 
ward  with  determination,  they  were  soon  checked  by  a  steady 
and  well  directed  fire  from  an  interior  line  of  works,  nearly  a 
half  mile  beyond  the  line  they  had  already  carried. 

This  checked  the  advance,  and  as  the  supporting  corps 
were  not  at  hand,  the  rebel  commander  was  enabled  to  re- 
enforce  his  center  by  drawing  troops  from  his  flanks,  and  after 
a  sharp  fight  drove  Hancock  back  to  the  first  position  carried. 
Grant  had  foreseen  the  emergency,  and  hurried  Wright's 
corps  to  aid  Hancock,  while  Burnside  and  Warren  were 
directed  to  attack  along  their  fronts  for  the  purpose  of  pre 
venting  an  overwhelming  assembly  of  rebels  in  front  of  the 
captured  salient.  Meade  received  orders  to  this  effect  in 
ample  time,  but  his  execution  of  them  was  too  slow  by  twenty 
minutes  or  a  half-hour.  If  Wright  had  followed  closely  after 
Hancock,  with  his  forces  well  in  hand  ready  to  hurl  them 
upon  the  broken  lines  of  the  enemy  before  they  were  able  to 
reform,  a  complete  victory  might  have  been  won,  but  oppor 
tunities  of  this  kind  with  a  well-disciplined  army  rarely  last 
more  than  five  or  ten  minutes,  so  that  when  Wright  did  arrive, 
which  was  at  six  o'clock,  he  found  Hancock  closely  beset  by 
Lee,  who  was  now  exerting  himself  to  the  utmost  to  re-estab 
lish  his  broken  lines.  Wright  at  once  relieved  that  part  of 
Hancock's  line  holding  the  rebel  works  to  the  right  of  the 
salient,  while  Hancock  concentrated  his  corps  on  the  left. 
Warren  and  Burnside  assaulted  about  eight  o'clock,  but  made 
no  perceptible  impression.  The  fight  now  became  general 
all  along  the  line.  Lee  made  five  furious  assaults  in  quick 
succession  with  the  intention  of  dislodging  our  men  from  the 
dearly  bought  works;  and  although  the  rebels  fought  with 
great  fury,  planting  their  flags  in  some  instances  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  Union  troops,  they  were  repulsed  each  time  with 
great  loss.  Finding  that  Warren  could  not  carry  the  works 
in  his  front,  Cutler's  and  Griffin's  divisions  were  sent  to  sup 
port  Hancock  and  Wright,  and  render  their  tenure  of  the 


212  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

salient  as  certain  as  it  could  be  made.  It  was  hoped,  too, 
that  a  new  movement  might  be  conducted  from  this  place,  but 
our  troops  were  unable  to  advance,  though  they  ultimately 
succeeded  in  getting  off  twenty  of  the  captured  guns,  and 
continued  to  hold  firm  possession  of  the  salient  which  they 
had  won  at  such  a  terrible  cost.  Lee  fortified  and  held  a 
line  only  a  few  paces  to  the  front,  so  that  his  position  became 
as  secure  as  ever. 

The  fighting  of  this  day  was  as  severe  as  any  during  the 
war,  and  it  is  to  be  doubted  if  musketry  firing  was  ever  kept 
up  so  incessantly  as  it  was  by  the  contending  troops  near  the 
captured  salient.  The  whole  forest  within  range  was  blighted 
by  it,  and  one  tree  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  was  actually 
cut  in  two  by  the  leaden  bullets  which  struck  it.  The  loss 
on  both  sides  was  great,  but,  the  advantages  gained  by  the 
Union  army  confirmed  Grant  in  his  plans,  and  reassured  the 
army  in  its  own  prowess. 

The  terrific  battle  of  the  12th,  having  resulted  in  Lee's 
retiring  to  his  inner  line,  Grant  soon  decided  to  undertake  a 
movement  against  his  right  flank.  With  this  view,  the  Fifth 
corps  was  withdrawn  from  its  old  position,  on  the  right,  and 
directed  to  move  by  the  rear  of  the  army  to  the  extreme  left. 
The  march  began  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  13th,  but 
owing  to  the  heavy  rain  which  had  fallen  the  day  before,  and 
to  the  dense  fog  which  arose  during  the  night,  the  troops 
moved  with  great  difficulty,  and  although  fires  had  been 
lighted  to  guide  them  through  the  trackless  woods,  they  did 
not  reach  the  left  of  the  line  till  daylight,  and  then  in  such  a 
jaded  condition  as  to  deprive  them  of  all  hope  of  making  a 
successful  attack.  The  Sixth  corps  followed  close  upon  the 
Fifth,  and  was  followed  in  turn  by  the  Second,  and  after 
much  skirmishing  with  several  sharp  combats,  intermitted  by 
maneuvers  and  marches  for  position,  hard  work  upon  roads 
and  a  change  of  base  to  Acquia  Creek,  Grant  formed  his 
army  on  the  18th,  facing  nearly  east,  with  its  left  flank  at 
Massaponax  Church,  and  the  right  on  the  Fredericksburg 
road.  Lee  had  gradually  extended  his  lines  in  the  same  di- 


LIFE   OF   IJLYSSES   S.  GRANT.  213 

rection,  covering  himself  wherever  it  was  possible  by  rifle- 
trench  and  impenetrable  slashings.  By  dawn  of  this  day,  the 
army  was  in  position  for  an  assault.  It  was  hoped  that  by 
throwing  a  part  of  Hancock's  corps  rapidly  back  to  the 
ground  of  its  former  victory,  the  enemy  might  be  caught 
napping.  Accordingly  the  divisions  of  Gibbon  and  Barlow, 
supported  by  Birney,  and  Tyler's  division  of  heavy  artillery, 
drawn  from  the  defenses  of  Washington,  were  selected  for 
this  purpose,  and  moved  to  the  attack  in  two  lines,  but  they 
were  met  by  the  enemy  before  they  had  advanced  a  quarter 
of  a  mile ;  after  suffering  severe  loss  in  trying  to  force  their 
way  through  the  slashing  that  encumbered  the  ground,  they 
were  forced  to  retire. 

Grant  had,  in  the  meantime,  determined  to  carry  the  army 
forward  by  a  turning  movement  towards  the  south.  Prepara 
tions  for  putting  this  plan  into  effect  were  begun  on  the  after 
noon  of  the  19th,  but  the  enemy  perceiving  something  of 
Grant's  intention,  made  a  bold  demonstration  against  his  ex 
treme  right,  now  held  by  the  heavy  artillery  division  under 
Tyler.  Ewell  sallied  out  from  his  works,  crossed  the  Ny 
above  Tyler's  position,  and  swung  in  behind  him  striking  the 
Fredericksburg  road  and  taking  possession  of  an  ammunition 
train  then  marching  to  join  the  army.  Tyler  met  this  move 
ment  promptly  and  vigorously,  driving  the  rebels  quickly  from 
the  road  and  into  the  woods  beyond.  His  men  were  unused 
to  battle,  although  they  had  been  in  service  nearly  two  years, 
but  they  fought  like  veterans,  or  even  better  and  much  more 
recklessly.  Shortly  after  the  action  began,  the  Second  and 
Fifth  corps,  were  sent  to  Tyler's  support  and  with  him  drove 
Ewell  back  into  his  works,  taking  several  hundred  prisoners. 
This  threw  Lee  again  upon  the  defensive,  and  enabled  Grant 
to  renew  his  southward  march  on  the  night  of  the  21st,  direct 
ing  his  columns  by  the  way  of  Milford  Station,  and  Chester 
field  towards  the  North  Anna  River.  Lee,  however,  had 
again  the  shorter  line  and  lost  no  time  in  hurrying  his  army 
towards  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  his  relent 
less  adversary. 


214  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

On  emerging  from  the  Wilderness,  Grant  had  despatched 
Sheridan  with  the  cavalry,  led  by  Merritt,  Gregg,  and  Wilson, 
on  a  raid,  with  orders  to  engage  the  rebel  cavalry,  break  up 
Lee's  communications,  and  then  to  threaten  Richmond,  and 
eventually  communicate  with  Butler  on  the  James  River. 
Making  a  detour  in  the  direction  of  Fredericksburg,  and  then 
moving  directly  southward,  Sheridan  crossed  the  North  Anna 
on  the  10th,  and  struck  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad  at  Beaver 
Dam  Station,  destroying  ten  miles  of  track,  two  locomotives, 
three  trains  of  cars,  and  a  million  and  a  half  of  rations.  He 
also  liberated  four  hundred  prisoners,  taken  in  the  Wilderness 
and  now  on  the  road  to  captivity  in  Libby  prison.  The  march 
had  hardly  begun  before  Lee's  scouts  informed  him  of  it.  As 
was  expected,  Stuart  with  the  mass  of  rebel  cavalry,  started 
at  once  in  pursuit,  and  came  up  with  Sheridan's  rear  on  the 
North  Anna,  but  was  easily  repulsed.  Sheridan  crossed  the 
South  Anna  at  Ground  Squirrel  Bridge  and  pushed  on  to 
wards  Richmond  with  Merritt  and  Wilson,  but  sent  Gregg  to 
the  left  for  the  purpose  of  striking  the  railroad  at  Ashland 
Station.  Moving  rapidly,  Gregg  reached  the  station  just  after 
daylight,  and  destroyed  one  train  of  cars,  a  large  lot  of  army 
supplies  and  six  miles  of  track.  While  engaged  in  this  work,  his 
rear  brigade  was  attacked  by  Stuart,  but  after  a  sharp  fight, 
succeeded  in  driving  him  off.  Sheridan  moving  down  the  di 
rect  turnpike  towards  Richmond,  found  the  main  part  of  the 
rebel  cavalry  in  position  near  the  Yellow  Tavern,  where  a 
sharp  fight  ensued,  in  which  Ouster's  brigade  of  Merritt's  di 
vision,  and  Wilson's  division  took  the  principal  part.  The 
rebels  were  quickly  routed,  losing  three  guns  and  a  number 
of  prisoners,  besides  General  Stuart  and  J.  B.  Gordon  mor 
tally  wounded. 

After  this  action  a  demonstration  was  made  in  the  direction 
of  Richmond,  but  the  works  of  that  place  were  thought  to  be 
too  strong  and  too  strongly  manned,  to  be  attacked  with  a 
reasonable  hope  of  success.  Sheridan  therefore  halted  his 
command  till  nearly  midnight,  at  which  time  he  resumed  the 
march,  Wilson  in  advance,  for  the  purpose  of  penetrating  be- 


LIFE   OP   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  215 

tween  the  Chickahominy  and  the  Richmond  defences  to  Fair 
Oaks  and  thence  to  the  James  River.  The  marching  col 
umns  were  undisturbed  except  by  the  bursting  of  an  occa 
sional  torpedo,  which  the  rebels  had  planted  in  the  roads,  till 
the  advanced  guard  had  reached  the  Mechanicsville  pike, 
where  a  halt  was  called  and  the  advanced  division  massed. 
This  delay  arose  from  the  necessity  of  finding  a  new  guide, 
and  looking  out  the  road  which  could  be  no  longer  seen  on 
account  of  darkness ;  but  the  halt  had  hardly  been  called  when 
the  heavy  guns  of  the  rebel  works,  not  over  two  hundred 
yards  distant  opened  upon  the  unsuspecting  troopers,  throw 
ing  them  momentarily  into  considerable  confusion.  Wilson 
however,  deployed  both  brigades  of  his  division  promptly,  and 
drove  the  rebel  skirmishers  back  into  their  works.  Shortly 
afterwards  daylight  appeared  and  revealed  the  true  situation 
of  affairs,  showing  the  rebel  works  resting  upon  the  bluffs  of 
the  Chickahominy  so  closely  as  to  preclude  all  idea  of  con 
tinuing  the  march  any  farther  towards  Fair  Oaks.  By  this 
time  Gregg  with  the  rear  division  had  also  been  attacked. 
The  whole  command  was  now  wedged  in  between  the  rebel 
works  in  front,  and  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy  in  rear. 
Sheridan,  however,  was  not  long  in  finding  a  way  out.  Or 
dering  Wilson  and  Gregg  to  hold  their  position  at  all  hazards, 
he  directed  Merritt  to  force  a  crossing  of  tfoe  Chickahominy, 
driving  away  the  rebel  cavalry,  and  to  repair  the  bridge 
which  the  rebels  had  destroyed  a  few  days  before.  This  was 
done  in  handsome  style,  after  Custer  had  essayed  a  crossing 
and  failed ;  and  although  the  rebel  force  continued  to  press 
Wilson  and  Gregg,  the  command  was  withdrawn  without  se 
rious  loss.  The  march  was  then  resumed  by  the  way  of  Pole 
Green  Church  to  Games'  Mill,  where  the  entire  corps  en 
camped  for  the  night.  The  next  day  it  recrossed  the  Chick 
ahominy  by  fording,  at  the  bottom  bridges,  and  continued  the 
march  by  the  way  of  White  Oak  Swamp  and  Malvern  Hill, 
to  Haxall's  Landing,  where  Sheridan  communicated  with 
Butler  at  Bermuda  Hundred. 

This  raid  was  a  success  in  one  essential  particular,*  leading 


216  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

to  the  victory  at  Yellow  Tavern,  which  was  complete,  in  so 
far  as  it  put  an  end  to  the  fancied  superiority  of  the  rebel 
cavalry.  It  was  observed  always  afterwards  that  they  could 
not  make  head  successfully  against  the  national  horse,  unless 
supported  and  re-enforced  by  infantry.  Sheridan's  troopers 
were  correspondingly  improved  by  their  achievements. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

BUTLER'S  MOVEMENTS  ON  THE  JAMES — DEFEAT  AT  DRURY'S  BLUFF — 
SHUT  UP  AT  BERMUDA  HUNDRED  —  HE  FAILS  TO  CARRY  OUT  A 
DECISIVE  POLICY — 8IGEL  REPULSED  AT  NEW  MARKET — HE  RE 
TREATS — IS  RELIEVED  BY  HUNTER — HUNTER  ASSUMES  THE  OFFEN 
SIVE — HIS  ENGAGEMENT  AT  PIEDMONT — ADVANCE  TO  LYNCHBURG 
— RETIRES  BY  THE  LINE  OF  THE  KANAWHA  TO  WHEELING SUF 
FERING  OF  HIS  COMMAND — STAMPEDE  OF  HUNDRED-DAY  MEN 

HUNTER'S  MISTAKE — SHERIDAN  ORDERED  TOWARDS  CHARLOTTES- 
VILLE  AND  GORDONSVILLE. 

AN  important  part  of  Grant's  plan  of  operations  was  the 
movement  of  Butler's  column  from  Fortress  Monroe.  A  con 
siderable  force  hitherto  engaged  in  profitless  coastwise  expe 
ditions  had  been  concentrated  at  that  place  under  Gillmore 
and  W.  F.  Smith, — the  former  commanding  the  Tenth,*  and 
the  latter  the  Eighteenth  corps, — in  all,  not  far  from  30,000 
men.  This  force,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  division  of 
horse  under  Kautz,  stationed  at  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth, 
was  assembled  at  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  Point.  Butler 
was,  therefore,  in  position  to  move  by  the  Peninsular  route 
directly  upon  Richmond,  or  to  throw  his  force  suddenly  by 
transports  to  some  convenient  point  on  the  James,  threatening 
the  rebel  capital  from  the  south  side.  The  latter  was  the  real 
plan  in  view,  but  with  the  intention  of  misleading  the  rebels, 
Butler  on  the  1st  of  May  made  a  feint  of  striking  from  the 
York  River  as  well  as  along  the  Peninsula.  Kautz,  with  his 
mounted  division,  also  moved  forward  from  Suffolk.  Hav- 

*The  Tenth  corps  was  composed  of  three  divisions  under  Terry,  Ames  and 
Turner;  the  Eighteenth,  of  two  divisions  under  Weitzel  and  Brooks,  with  a 
brigade  of  colored  troops  under  Hinks. 


218  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

ing  pushed  a  small  force  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Richmond, 
he  withdrew  rapidly  and  embarked  his  entire  force  on  board 
the  transports  on  the  night  of  the  4th,  and  steamed  down  the 
York  and  up  the  James,  convoyed  by  a  fleet  of  gun-boats 
under  Admiral  Lee.  The  next  day  he  landed  detachments  of 
his  force  at  Wilson's  wharf,  Fort  Powhattan,  and  the  main 
body  of  his  army  at  City  Point  and  Bermuda  Hundred,  two 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox.  This  point  was 
selected  as  being  susceptible  of  easy  defense,  and  also  affording 
a  good  base  for  operations  against  either  Petersburg  or  Rich 
mond  as  well  as  the  railroad  connecting  them.  The  landing 
was  made  without  resistance,  and  on  the  next  day  Smith 
moved  out  towards  the  Petersburg  and  Richmond  road,  but 
failed  to  reach  it.  On  the  7th  he  was  re-enforced  by  a  part 
of  Gillmore's  corps,  struck  the  railroad  near  Walthall  Junc 
tion,  and  immediately  began  the  work  of  destruction,  pushing 
towards  Petersburg.  During  these  operations  he  encountered 
and  drove  back  the  rebels  under  D.  H.  Hill,  and  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  task  assigned  to  him.  While  this  was  going 
on,  Butler,  with  the  rest  of  his  troops,  was  engaged  in  estab 
lishing  a  strong  defensive  line  across  the  neck  at  Bermuda 
Hundred,  and  in  concentrating  the  detachments  of  his  com 
mand.  About  this  time  he  heard  of  Lee's  retrograde  move 
ment  towards  Richmond,  closely  pursued  by  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac ;  he  therefore  withdrew  Smith  who  had  reached 
Swift  Creek,  three  miles  from  Petersburg,  concentrated  his 
available  force  on  the  railroad,  and  turned  his  face  towards 
Richmond,  with  the  intention  of  getting  there  before  Grant. 
Pushing  northward  he  drove  the  rebel  force  of  observation 
beyond  Proctor's  Creek,  into  their  entrenched  position  near 
Drury's  Bluff,  and  by  the  loth,  made  his  arrangements  to  as 
sault  and  drive  them  from  that  fortification. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  Richmond  authorities  were  not 
idle.  As  soon  as  Butler's  movement  had  developed  itself, 
they  summoned  Beauregard  from  Charleston  with  all  the 
troops  that  could  be  gathered  in  Georgia,  and  North  and 
South  Carolina.  This  force,  together  with  the  local  militia 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  219 

and  the  garrison  of  Richmond,  amounted  to  something  like 
20,000  men ;  and  instead  of  being  divided  by  the  operations 
against  the  railroad  as  had  been  supposed,  they  were  assem 
bled  in  the  works  extending  from  the  railroad  to  Drury's 
Bluff.  On  the  morning  of  the  16th  of  May,  Beauregard  as 
sumed  the  offensive  and  under  cover  of  a  heavy  fog  made  a 
general  attack  upon  Butler's  long  and  attenuated  line.  The 
rebel  commander  had  left  Whiting's  division  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Petersburg,  and  his  plan  was  for  this  division  to  ad 
vance  and  seize  Butler's  line  of  retreat,  while  the  main  force 
interposed  itself  between  his  right  flank  and  the  James  River. 
The  attack  was  made  with  unusual  vigor,  and  being  favored 
by  the  darkness  of  the  morning  was  at  first  almost  entirely 
successful.  Smith's  right  brigade  under  Heckman  was  swept 
away,  and  routed ;  but  just  at  this  juncture  General  Ames 
threw  forward  three  regiments  of  his  division,  which  had  been 
placed  in  reserve  to  support  Smith,  and  happily  succeeded  in 
checking  the  advancing  rebels  just  as  they  were  about  to  seize 
the  road  to  Bermuda  Hundred.  While  this  turning  move 
ment  was  in  progress  Beauregard  attacked  Weitzel's  and 
Brook's  divisions  of  Smith's  corps,  with  great  fury,  but  was 
easily  repulsed. 

This  fortunate  result  was  partially  due  to  the  ingenuity  of 
General  Smith,  who  had  made  an  entanglement  of  telegraph 
wire,  covering  a  part  of  his  front.  Being  checked  on  all  sides, 
the  advantage  of  Beauregard's  offensive  was  lost,  but  he  now 
determined  to  renew  his  turning  movement  against  the  Union 
right,  by  marching  to  the  southward,  by  a  route  nearer  to  the 
James.  This  caused  Smith  to  fall  back  so  as  to  protect  the 
trains  and  to  cover  the  roads  leading  to  the  depots  at  Bermuda 
Hundred.  His  front  was  too  much  extended  already  for  a 
defensive  battle  and  an  offensive  one  with  such  a  leader  as 
Butler,  was  then  out  of  the  question.  Gillmore's  position 
was  not  seriously  attacked.  His  right  brigade  felt  the  shock 
of  the  assault  against  Smith,  but  the  left  of  his  line  did  not 
fire  a  shot.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  darkness  of  the 
day  which  rendered  it  impossible  to  discover  the  rebel  move- 


220  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

ments,  and  also  to  the  inexplicable  tardiness  on  the  part  of 
Whiting.  Had  Butler  thrown  Gillmore  forward  promptly 
against  the  rebel  right,  it  must  have  relieved  the  pressure 
against  Smith,  and  enabled  the  army  to  hold  its  position  if 
not  to  inflict  an  overwhelming  defeat  upon  the  rebels.  But 
instead  of  doing  this,  he  caused  Gillmore  to  conform  to  Smith's 
retrograde  movement  and  finally  allowed  himself  to  be  shut 
up  in  the  cul  de  sac  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  not  to  emerge 
from  there  again  permanently  for  an  entire  year. 

It  was  a  great  misfortune  to  the  national  cause,  that  Butler 
did  not  pursue  a  vigorous  and  determined  policy,  immediately 
after  landing  his  army  on  the  south  side  of  the  James ;  but  he 
seems  to  have  had  no  perception  of  the  strategic  importance 
of  his  operations,  or  of  the  relative  value  of  the  points  before 
him.  He  should  have  marched  with  all  possible  celerity  upon 
Petersburg  with  his  entire  force,  except  the  few  men  required 
to  mark  out  and  occupy  the  lines  of  defense  at  Bermuda 
Hundred  or  City  Point;  but  instead  of  doing  this  he  seems 
to  have  had  no  well  defined  plan.  He  neither  marched  rap 
idly  nor  fought  vigorously  in  any  direction,  and  hence  did 
no  serious  damage  to  the  enemy.  It  is  claimed  as  a  justifi 
cation  of  his  course,  that  his  orders  from  Grant  were  vague, 
and  uncertain  in  their  tenor,  but  this  is  a  poor  excuse.  Grant 
indicated  his  wishes  in  general  terms,  told  him  to  fortify  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  to  break  up  railroads,  and  to  make  Rich 
mond  the  objective  point  of  his  campaign,  but  the  details  of 
the  various  operations  necessary,  were  left  entirely  to  Butler 
and  his  able  subordinates.  Even  if  these  details,  as  they 
were  afterwards  developed,  had  been  specifically  sanctioned  by 
the  Lieutenant-General,  Butler  would  not  have  been  justified ; 
for  being  on  the  ground  in  person  and  fully  informed  of  the 
rebel  movements,  it  was  his  duty  to  arrange  his  details  to  suit 
the  actual  condition  of  affairs.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
precise  import  of  Grant's  written  and  verbal  instructions, 
there  seems  to  have  been  little  doubt  as  to  his  expectations, 
and  there  is  less  as  to  what  should  have  been  done.  The 
convictions  of  most  sensible  persons  upon  the  merits  of  this 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  221 

question  are  fixed,  and  no  amount  of  vagueness  in  the  official 
directions,  can  justify  Butler  for  failing  to  thoroughly  break 
the  railroads,  scatter  the  inferior  forces  of  Beauregard,  and 
secure  Petersburg  at  least. 

The  small  army  in  West  Virginia,  formed  the  second  co-op 
erating  column,  in  aid  of  Grant's  general  movement  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Sigel  divided  it  into  two  detach 
ments,  one  composed  of  a  division  of  infantry  and  Averill's 
cavalry  operating  through  the  valley  of  the  Kanawha  against 
the  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Railroad,  while  the  other 
under  Sigel's  immediate  command,  marched  up  the  Shenan- 
doah  towards  Staunton  and  Lynchburg.  These  movements 
began  on  the  1st  of  May,  but  on  the  15th,  Sigel  encountered 
the  rebels  under  Breckenridge  at  New  Market,  and  after  a 
severe  engagement  with  considerable  loss,  was  repulsed,  and 
fell  back  beyond  Cedar  Creek.  He  was  at  once  relieved  by 
that  zealous  and  gallant,  though  not  fortunate  officer,  General 
Hunter,  who  assumed  the  offensive  without  delay.  Hunter 
was  instructed  to  march  upon  Staunton,  and  after  capturing 
that  place  and  breaking  up  the  railroad  towards  Charlottes- 
ville,  to  move  rapidly  to  Lynchburg.  He  encountered  the 
rebels  at  Piedmont,  on  the  5th  of  June,  and  after  a  severe 
engagement  of  four  or  five  hours,  drove  them  from  the  field, 
capturing  1500  prisoners  and  3  field  guns.  On  the  8th, 
Hunter  formed  a  junction  with  Crook  and  Averill  at  Staun 
ton,  and  then  directed  his  march  by  the  way  of  Lexington 
towards  Lynchburg,  without  encountering  any  decided  resist 
ance,  and  made  his  arrangements  for  an  attack ;  but  mean 
while  the  Richmond  authorities  had  become  alarmed  for  the 
safety  of  that  important  place,  and  directed  Lee  to  detach  a 
force  for  its  defense.  These  troops  had  begun  to  arrive  be 
fore  Hunter  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  and  as  his 
ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted,  he  determined  not  to 
hazard  an  attack,  but  to  retire  by  the  line  of  the  Kanawha, 
choosing  this  line  because  he  deemed  it  safe  from  interruption 
by  a  force  moving  from  Richmond  by  the  way  of  Charlottes- 
ville,  and  also  for  the  reason  that  it  promised  to  bring  him  to 


222  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

supplies  in  a  much  shorter  time.  A  depot  of  military  stores 
had  been  left  by  Crook  at  Charlestown,  a  few  days  before, 
under  charge  of  two  regiments  of  hundred  day  men,  but  un 
fortunately  for  Hunter  these  troops  allowed  themselves  to  be 
stampeded  by  guerrillas,  and  after  burning  most  of  the  stores 
removed  the  remainder  farther  down  the  river. 

The  line  of  march,  lying  in  the  desolate  mountain  region  of 
West  Virginia,  Hunter  found  great  difficulty  in  sustaining  the 
strength  and  resolution  of  his  forces,  but  after  a  wearisome 
march  and  much  suffering,  he  reached  the  Ohio  River   at 
Wheeling,  whence  he  returned  to  Martinsburg  by  rail.     He 
committed  a  grave  mistake  in  retreating  by  such  a  circuitous 
and  eccentric  line ;  for  it  left  the  entire  Shenandoah  Valley 
open  to  rebel  incursions,  and  ultimately  enabled  Early  to  cross 
the  Potomac  and  threaten  Washington.     Grant's  main  object 
in  sending  him  towards  Lynchburg  was  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  railroads  at  that  point,  and  to  cut  off  the  supplies  of 
grain  and  meat  drawn  from  South-west  Virginia  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  troops  defending  the  rebel  capital.     After  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  had  crossed  the  James,  Grant  detached 
Sheridan   with   Gregg's   and  Torbert's  divisions   to   march 
through  the  country  by  the  way  of  Charlottesville,  for  the 
purpose  of  completing  the  destruction  of  all  the  railroad  lines 
north  of  Richmond,  and  then  to  join  Hunter  somewhere  be 
tween  Staunton  and  Petersburg.     These  operations,  it  was 
hoped,  would  render  it  impossible  for  Lee  to  make  an  offen 
sive  return  towards  Washington  with  a  large  force,  but  Sheri 
dan  did  not  succeed  in  getting  farther  than  Trevillian  Station 
where  he  had  a  bloody  and  obstinate  battle  with  the  rebel 
cavalry  under  Hampton. 


CHAPTEK    XXIV. 

FORWARD — THE  UNION  ARMY  AT  THE  NORTH  ANNA — LEE  IN  POSITION 
—  WARREN  CROSSES  AT  JERICHO — HANCOCK  CAPTURES  COUNTY 
BRIDGE — THREE  CORPS  ACROSS  THE  RIVER — THE  REBEL  POSITION 
IMPREGNABLE  —  PREPARING  FOR  A  NEW  MOVEMENT — SHERIDAN 
REJOINS  THE  ARMY — WILSON'S  DEMONSTRATIONS — NEW  TURNING 
MOVEMENT  TO  THE  PAMUNKY — DETAILS  OF  THE  OPERATION — LEE'S 
LINE — SHERIDAN  DEFEATS  THE  REBEL  CAVALRY  AT  HAWES'  SHOP — 
GRANT  MOVES  INTO  POSITION — INTRODUCTORY  ENGAGEMENTS — PO 
SITION  OF  THE  CONTENDING  ARMIES  NEAR  THE  TOLOPOTOMY — . 
THE  ATTACK— THE  FAILURE— GRANT'S  PRACTICE  IN  REGARD  TO 
DETAILS— OBSERVATIONS. 

IN  pursuance  of  his  determination  to  fight  it  out  on  that 
line,  Grant  continued  his  march  towards  Richmond,  in  the 
hope  of  catching  Lee  in  a  disadvantageous  position,  and  deal 
ing  him  a  crushing  blow.  Flanking  operations  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  enemy  are  usually  regarded  as  being  extremely 
hazardous,  affording  him  good  and  frequent  opportunity  for 
sudden  and  effective  return  ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  southward 
march  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  Spottsylvania,  so 
great  were  the  skill  and  precision  of  every  movement,  that 
Lee  made  no  effort  to  interfere ;  but  holding  high  ground 
which  covered  the  direct  road  to  Richmond,  and  seeing  all 
that  "was  done,  he  hastened  southward  also,  and  took  up  a 
strong  position  on  the  south  side  of  the  North  Anna.  Grant, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  to  make  a  considerable  detour,  and  to 
move  by  poor  and  devious  roads,  so  that  when  he  reached  the 
North  Anna  near  the  railroad  crossing,  on  the  23d  of  May, 
he  found  his  wily  antagonist  already  in  position,  covering  the 
railroad  junction,  and  ready  to  dispute  his  farther  progress. 


224  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

The  prospect  seemed  uninviting  enough,  but  Grant  was  not 
the  person  to  take  appearances  for  well-assured  facts;  he 
therefore  ordered  Warren,  whose  corps  was  on  the  right,  to 
cross  the  river  at  Jericho,  and  to  try  the  enemy's  position. 
The  crossing  was  made  in  handsome  style,  and  the  rebels 
were  driven  back  nearly  to  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad. 
Warren's  corps  was  formed  as  follows :  Cutler  on  the  right, 
Griffin  in  the  center,  and  Crawford  on  the  left. 

Lee  at  once  threw  forward  the  divisions  of  Wilcox  and 
Heth  to  drive  Warren  into  the  river,  but  they  were  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss  by  Griffin.  The  rebel  commander  then  de 
tached  three  brigades  under  Brown  for  the  purpose  of  assail 
ing  the  right  flank  of  Warren's  line.  Marching  rapidly 
along  the  railroad  till  a  sufficient  distance  had  been  gained, 
Brown  moved  his  command  by  the  right  flank,  falling  upon 
Cutler,  not  yet  fairly  in  position,  swept  his  left  back,  and 
threw  the  entire  division  into  confusion.  Griffin  became 
again  involved,  and  for  a  few  minutes  was  in  considerable 
jeopardy.  But  at  this  critical  juncture,  the  Eighty-third 
Pennsylvania,  Lieutenant-Colonel  McCoy  commanding,  has 
tening  forward  to  fill  the  gap  in  the  line,  made  an  effective 
charge,  striking  Brown's  regiments  in  flank,  and  driving  them 
rapidly  back.  Eeassured  by  this  favorable  turn  in  the  prog 
ress  of  the  contest,  the  lines  of  the  shaken  divisions  were 
soon  re-established,  and  the  rebels  completely  driven  off,  leav 
ing  1,000  prisoners  in  Warren's  possession.  His  lines  were 
rapidly  intrenched,  and  rendered  safe  against  all  direct  at 
tacks.  Hancock  struck  the  river  at  the  County  Bridge,  a 
mile  west  of  the  railroad  crossing  ;  but  the  rebels  had  con 
structed  a  tete-de-pont  covering  this  bridge,  overlooked  by  a 
heavy  line  of  entrenchments  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
and  it  was  necassary  to  capture  these  works  in  order  to  effect 
a  passage.  Birney's  division  of  the  Second  corps  was  charged 
with  this  perilous  duty,  and  about  an  hour  before  sundown, 
under  the  cover  of  a  heavy  fire  from  the  corps  of  artillery 
placed  in  position  under  Colonel  Tidball,  the  assault  was 
made,  the  brigades  of  Egan  and  Pierce  bearing  the  brunt  of 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  225 

the  fight.  Advancing  at  a  double-quick,  those  gallant  veter 
ans  carried  the  bridge  head  in  the  handsomest  manner,  cap 
turing  some  30  or  40  prisoners,  who  were  left  in  the  trench 
by  their  flying  companions.  Earry  the  next  morning  the 
Second  corps  pushed  across  the  bridge  and  took  up  a  position 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  the  rebels  having  drawn  back 
their  line  during  the  night. 

The  Sixth  corps  crossed  at  Jericho.  Thus  three  corps  were 
safely  on  the  south  side  confronting  Lee  once  more ;  but  it 
was  soon  discovered  that  they  could  not  communicate  with 
each  other,  on  account  of  a  strong  salient  in  the  rebel  lines 
resting  on  the  bank  of  the  river  between  the  two  points  of 
passage.  It  seems  that  Lee  had  formed  the  left  half  of  his 
army  across  the  neck  of  land  lying  between  Little  River  and 
the  North  Anna,  the  extreme  left  resting  on  the  former,  and 
the  center  on  the  latter,  while  the  right  wing  was  thrown 
back  at  an  obtuse  angle  with  the  left.  In  order  to  establish 
communication  between  the  right  and  left  wings  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  Grant  ordered  Burnside  to  make  a  crossing 
between  the  points  at  which  Warren  and  Hancock  had 
crossed,  but  this  order  could  not  be  carried  out.  Critten- 
den's  division,  which  was  charged  with  its  execution,  was 
repulsed  with  heavy  loss ;  while  Crawford's  division,  which 
made  a  demonstration  from  Warren's  front  towards  the  new 
point  of  crossing,  was  thrust  back  upon  the  river  and  com 
pelled  to  return  to  its  works,  narrowly  escaping  a  serious 
disaster.  In  spite  of  all  that  could  be  done,  Lee  succeeded 
in  maintaining  his  center  in  its  salient  position,  and  therefore 
in  keeping  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  so  divided  as  to  render 
it  incapable  of  advancing  except  at  the  imminent  risk  of 
having  either  wing  overwhelmed  before  it  could  receive  succor 
from  the  other.  Grant  examined  the  situation  with  great 
care,  but  the  rebel  position  was  found  to  be  impregnable ;  he 
therefore  did  not  hesitate  to  throw  away  the  advantage 
which  he  had  already  gained  by  his  brilliant  double  passage 
of  the  river,  and  issued  orders  for  the  army  to  withdraw  to 

the  north  side  preparatory  to  a  new  turning  movement. 
15 


226  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GBANT. 

In  the  meantime,  Sheridan  with  the  cavalry  had  rejoined 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  having  marched  northward  by  the 
way  of  the  White  House  and  Aylett's,  on  the  Mattapony. 
On  the  25th,  Wilson's  division  crossed  the  North  Anna  at 
Jericho,  and  made  a  demonstration  of  crossing  Little  River 
on  the  extreme  right  of  the  army  ;  but  that  stream  was  found 
impassable.  He  was,  however,  directed  to  make  a  vigorous 
show  of  crossing,  and  did  so,  with  the  view  of  attracting  Lee's 
attention  in  that  direction  while  the  army  was  withdrawing 
in  another.  Torbert's  and  Gregg's  divisions,  supported  by 
Russell's  division  of  the  Sixth  corps,  the  next  day  moved 
down  the  North  Anna,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  the  cross 
ings  of  the  Pamunky.  Torbert  was  sent  to  Taylor's  Ford 
with  orders  to  make  a  demonstration  of  crossing  there  till 
after  dark.  Gregg  was  ordered  to  Littlepage's  Ford,  with 
similar  instructions.  After  leaving  detachments  at  these  fords 
to  keep  up  the  feint,  both  divisions  were  to  march  rapidly 
under  cover  of  darkness  to  the  ford  at  Hanovertown,  and  to 
cross  without  delay.  These  movements  were  admirably  and 
rapidly  executed,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  Tor 
bert's  leading  brigade  forced  a  passage,  driving  back  a  strong 
cavalry  picket  and  capturing  some  30  or  40  prisoners.  Tor- 
beft  followed  quickly  with  the  rest  of  the  division,  driving 
Gordon's  cavalry  brigade  from  Hanovertown  and  pursuing 
it  to  Cramp's  Creek.  Gregg  joined  Torbert  at  this  place,  and 
Russell  encamped  near  the  crossing  of  the  river,  covering  all 
approaches  to  it.  By  this  skillful  and  rapid  handling  of  the 
cavalry,  Grant  completely  masked  his  plans  till  their  execu 
tion  had  been  made  certain.  On  the  night  of  the  26th  the 
Second,  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps  retired  silently  to  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  by  different  bridges,  and  the  next  day  headed 
towards  the  new  crossing  of  the  Pamunky,  reaching  and 
crossing  that  stream  without  molestation  or  difficulty.  The 
Sixth  corps  led  the  van,  followed  closely  by  the  Fifth,  Ninth 
and  Second  corps  in  their  order, — the  whole  covered  in  flank 
and  rear  by  the  march  of  Wilson's  horse.  The  Second  corps, 
however,  crossed  four  miles  further  up  the  river.  Thus  by 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRAJiT.  227 

the  night  of  the  27th,  the  whole  army  stood  intact  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Pamunky.  This  stream  is  made  by  the 
union  of  the  North  and  South  Anna,  and  with  the  Mattapony 
forms  the  York,  at  the  head  of  which  is  situated  West  Point, 
now  become  the  base  of  supplies. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  this  single  passage,  Grant  compelled 
Lee  to  pass  two  rivers,  the  last  remaining  barriers  of  impor 
tance  which  obstructed  the  march  of  the  Union  soldiers. 
While  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  on  the  North  Anna,  its 
base  was  shifted  from  Fredericksburg  to  Port  Eoyal,  on  the 
Kappahannock.  Those  who  have  doubted  Grant's  capacity 
to  maneuver  should  study  carefully  the  details  of  the  com 
binations  just  related.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  admir 
able  than  the  regularity  with  which  the  different  subdivisions 
of  the  army,  performed  the  marches  assigned  them,  nor  more 
profound  than  the  judgment  displayed  by  the  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral  in  the  calculations  and  instructions  upon  which  these 
marches  were  based.  As  a  matter  of  course,  Lee  was  not 
long  kept  in  ignorance  of  Grant's  real  designs,  and  having 
the  inside  line,  less  than  half  as  long  as  the  detour  made  by 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  it  was  not  remarkable  that  he 
should  again  interpose  himself  between  the  invaders  and  the 
Chickahominy,  covering  the  rebel  capital.  His  line  of  battle 
was  formed  facing  north-east,  and  was  far  enough  advance^ 
to  cover  the  railroads  running  northward  from  Richmond. 
Grant  was  therefore  compelled  to  force  him  back  before  try 
ing  to  pass  the  Chickahominy.  With  this  object  in  view, 
Sheridan  was  pushed  out  towards  Hawes'  shop,  where,  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  28th,  he  encountered  the  rebel  cavalry 
under  Hampton,  the  successor  of  Stuart.  A  long  and  se 
verely-contested  battle  ensued  in  which  the  dismounted  troop 
ers  of  Davies,  Gregg  and  Custer  took  the  principal  part. 
Sheridan  succeeded  in  holding  the  junction  of  the  roads  for 
which  he  had  fought,  and  in  driving  the  rebels  from  the  field 
with  a  loss  of  over  800  men  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 
Grant  threw  forward  the  army  at  once,  and  assumed  a  posi 
tion  in  front  of  that  place.  Lee  was  therefore  compelled  to 


228  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    SJ  GRANT. 

move  rearward  by  the  right  flank,  taking  up  a  new  line  across 
the  head  of  the  Tolopotomy,  though  his  exact  position  was 
not  known.  Strong  reconnoissances  were  made  in  all  direc 
tions,  and  a  gradual  tendency  of  the  enemy  towards  the  left 
was  manifested.  On  the  29th  of  May,  Hardin's  reserve  bri 
gade  of  Crawford's  division  was  struck  in  flank  at  Bethesda 
Church,  by  Rhodes'  division  of  Ewell's  corps,  and  driven  back 
to  the  Shady  Grove  road. 

At  this  place  new  troops  were  brought  into  action,  in  turn 
driving  the  rebels  back,  and  enabling  Warren  to  establish 
his  corps  firmly  on  the  Mechanicsville  road.  Hancock,  ad 
vancing  towards  Hanover  Court  House,  was  checked  at  the 
Tolopotomy,  a  swampy  and  difficult  stream  emptying  into 
the  Pamunky,  and  behind  which  the  enemy  were  too  strongly 
posted  to  be  successfully  assailed.  Hancock  was  supported 
by  Burnside  on  his  left  and  Wright  on  his  right ;  and  al 
though  there  was,  of  necessity,  a  good  deal  of  heavy  skir 
mishing,  it  was  evident  that  the  rebel  position  was  too  strong 
to  warrant  a  battle  at  that  place.  The  only  course  open  to 
Grant  was  to  prolong  his  line  in  the  direction  of  Cold  Har 
bor,  which  Sheridan  had  already  occupied.  The  Sixth  corps 
was  therefore  withdrawn  from  the  right,  and  directed  to 
move  by  the  rear  of  the  army  to  that  place.  Marching 
nearly  all  night,  it  arrived  at  the  designated  point  early  on 
the  morning  of  June  1st,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  joined 
by  General  W.  F.  Smith,  with  four  small  divisions  from  the 
Tenth  and  Eighteenth  corps,  which  Grant  had  detached  from 
Butler  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  and  brought  around  by  steamer 
to  the  White  House.  These  troops  took  position  on  the  right 
of  the  Sixth  corps,  and  were  at  once  ordered  forward  by 
Meade  to  break  the  enemy's  line  in  their  front,  and  to  force  a 
crossing  of  the  Chickahominy.  These  orders  were  given 
under  the  impression  that  they  could  be  executed  before  Lee 
could  interpose  his  infantry  to  counteract  it ;  but  he  had  per 
ceived  the  withdrawal  of  the  Sixth  corps,  and,  suspecting 
where  it  would  turn  up,  had  detached  Longstreet's  corps 
from  the  rebel  left,  and  by  a  similar  march  threw  it  to  his 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  229 

extreme  right.  Smith  and  Wright  were  therefore  unable  to 
carry  out  their  orders  literally,  but  after  a  careful  and  judi 
cious  disposition  of  their  force,  late  in  the  afternoon  they 
made  a  spirited  advance,  capturing  the  first  line  of  rifle-trench 
already  prepared  by  the  rebels,  together  with  600  or  700 
prisoners.  They  put  forth  a  vigorous  and  determined  effort 
to  carry  the  second,  and  only  desisted  after  they  had  lost 
nearly  2,000  men,  and  were  forced  to  acknowledge  the  task 
impracticable.  Had  it  been  possible  to  make  their  assault 
early  in  the  forenoon,  better  results  might  have  been  obtained  ; 
but  both  Smith's  and  Wright's  men  were  much  jaded,  and 
could  not  be  brought  into  action  sooner. 

Grant's  aversion  to  sacrificing  the  lives  of  his  men  was 
well  exemplified  when  he  declined  to  attack  Lee's  position  on 
the  North  Anna ;  he  would  gladly  have  done  so  again,  had 
he  been  able  to  find  any  alternative,  but  it  was  plain  to  the 
newest  lieutenant  in  the  army,  that  nothing  but  hard  fight 
ing  could  secure  the  advantages  which  were  requisite  at  Cold 
Harbor.  The  losses  in  Smith's  and  Wright's  corps  in  these 
preliminary  essays  were  heavy ;  but  the  battle  secured  us  a 
firm  hold  upon  a  position,  without  which  the  army  could 
hardly  have  carried  out  the  plan  formed  for  it.  On  the  night 
after  this  introductory  engagement,  Hancock,  who  now  held 
the  extreme  right,  was  directed  to  march  by  the  left  flank 
and  take  post  on  the  left  of  the  Sixth  corps.  The  right  of 
Warren's  corps  still  continued  near  Bethesda  Church,  while 
his  left  was  extended  well  towards  Smith's  right,  and  Burn- 
side  was  ordered  to  withdraw  from  the  front  line  and  mass 
in  rear  of  Warren.  While  executing  this  movement  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  2d,  the  enemy  followed  him  up,  captured  a 
number  of  his  skirmishers,  and  struck  the  left  of  Warren's 
line,  arresting  its  extension  towards  Cold  Harbor,  and  com 
pelling  him  to  assume  a  more  compact  formation.  Bartlett's 
brigade  was  thrown  forward  promptly  and  checked  the  hostile 
advance,  after  which  new  dispositions  were  ordered.  Before 
they  were  carried  into  effect,  Wilson  was  directed  to  cross  the 
Tolopotomy,  drive  the  rebel  cavalry  from  Hawes'  shop,  and 


230  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

then  recross  the  Tolopotomy  near  its  head,  striking  the  rebel 
infantry  in  the  rear.  The  movements  were  made  with  de 
spatch  and  success,  resulting  in  a  sharp  fight  at  Hawes'  shop, 
in  which  Colonel  Preston,  of  the  First  Vermont  cavalry,  was 
killed,  after  he  had  driven  the  rebels  from  their  works.  Just 
at  sunset  the  rebel  left  and  rear  were  attacked  under  cover 
of  the  horse  artillery,  at  Via's  house,  and  compelled  to  relin 
quish  their  advanced  position  in  front  of  Burnside,  with  the 
loss  of  some  prisoners. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  the  two  armies  held  positions  nearly 
similar  to  those  held  by  Porter's  corps,  and  Jackson's  turning 
column  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Games'  Mill,  though  in 
the  contest  about  to  be  opened  the  rebels  were  this  time  to  be 
assailed,  instead  of  assailing.  Grant's  troops  were  well  in 
hand.  Sheridan,  with  Gregg  and  Torbert,  held  the  left  and 
rear,  while  Wilson  held  the  extreme  right  of  our  line.  The 
situation  of  the  latter  had  been  one  of  extreme  danger,  for 
soon  after  crossing  the  Pamunky,  which  he  did  immediately 
after  the  infantry  had  all  crossed,  he  was  sent  to  the  extreme 
right,  defeating  the  rebel  cavalry  under  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  in  a 
night  fight  at  Hanover  Court  House,  and  then  proceeding  to 
break  up  the  two  railroads  running  North,  and  to  burn  the 
bridges  over  the  South  Anna.  This  work  was  promptly  and 
efficiently  done,  but  while  engaged  in  covering  it,  Mclntosh's 
brigade  was  attacked  by  three  brigades  of  cavalry  at  Ashland 
Station,  and  after  a  desperate  fight  was  compelled  to  retire. 
Just  at  this  juncture,  Wilson  fell  upon  the  rebel  rear  with 
the  First  Vermont  cavalry,  and  succeeded  in  extricating  his 
command  from  its  perilous  strait.  Having  accomplished  the 
task  assigned  him,  he  withdrew  through  Hanover  Court 
House,  and  rejoined  the  army,  beyond  the  Tolopotomy,  after 
three  days  of  ceaseless  fighting,  marching  and  hard  labor,  in 
the  destruction  of  railroads  and  bridges,  for  the  purpose  of 
isolating  the  rebel  capital. 

Lee  had  disposed  of  his  army  about  New  Cold  Harbor, 
covering  the  approaches  of  Richmond,  while  Grant  confronted 
him  with  lines  encircling  Old  Cold  Harbor.  The  positions 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  231 

occupied  by  both  were  naturally  strong  for  a  defensive  battle, 
but  they  had  been  strengthened  immensely  by  slashings  and 
rifle-trench.  The  Union  forces  were  arranged  in  the  following 
order : — Hancock's  corps  on  the  extreme  left,  resting  on  the 
road  to  Despatch  Station ;  then  Wright,  then  Smith's  divis 
ion,  then  Warren,  and  finally  Burnside.  Sheridan,  with  two 
divisions  of  horse,  was  watching  the  lower  crossing  of  the 
Chickahominy  and  covering  the  base  of  supplies  at  the  White 
House,  while  Wilson  was  watching  the  right.  Grant  had 
ordered  the  attack  to  be  made  by  corps,  and  to  begin  at  half- 
past  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  3d.  Every  officer 
and  man  seemed  to  realize  the  necessity  of  promptitude,  and 
within  a  few  minutes  of  the  time  specified,  the  entire  army 
was  bearing  its  tattered  standards  towards  the  rebel  lines. 
Silently  and  devotedly  it  rushed  forward  into  the  jaws  of 
death,  against  the  bristling  and  well-manned  intrenchments. 
Every  corps  commander  had  been  left  to  select  his  own  point 
of  attack,  and  to  form  his  divisions  as  circumstances  might 
determine.  It  was  entirely  impossible  for  Grant  to  regulate 
such  details  for  so  vast  an  army,  even  had  he  been  so  minded  ; 
his  staif  being  too  small  to  gather  the  specific  information 
which  must  have  been  gained  before  specific  orders  could  be 
made.  Enough  was  known  through  the  reports  of  subordi 
nates  to  assure  him  that  Lee  had  used  the  ground  to  the  best 
advantage ;  but  where  the  lines  were  the  weakest  eould  not 
be  determined,  except  by  actual  attack.  The  country  being 
generally  level,  and  only  slightly  undulating,  the  sharpest  eye 
could  perceive  through  the  woods  and  fields,  nothing  but  faint 
lines  of  rifle-trench,  bristling  with  rebel  bayonets,  and  topped 
by  the  dirty  gray  of  rebel  uniforms.  The  order  of  battle,  was 
therefore  simple  :  a  general  attack  by  each  corps,  but  there 
was  nothing  in  this  order  forbidding,  limiting,  or  in  any  way 
discouraging  the  different  subordinates.  They  were  left  en 
tirely  free,  as  before  stated,  to  form  their  columns,  and  to 
direct  them  according  to  their  own  judgment. 

Hancock,  holding  the  extreme  left,  sent  Barlow  and  Gib 
bon   forward,  supporting  them  with  Birney.     The  advance 


232  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

was  made  in  handsome  style,  and  resulted  in  driving  the 
rebels  from  a  sunken  road  into  their  works,  from  which  they 
were  also  driven,  leaving  several  hundred  prisoners  and  three 
guns  in  the  hands  of  the  victors.  Barlow  pressed  his  ad 
vantage,  turning  the  captured  guns  upon  the  enemy,  but  not 
being  promptly  supported  by  Birney,  he  was  driven  back  by 
the  rallying  rebels,  and  after  a  determined  effort  to  hold  what 
he  had  captured,  was  finally  compelled  to  abandon  the  rebel 
works,  though  he  managed  to  hold  on  and  entrench  himself 
just  outside  of  them.  Gibbon  had  advanced  at  the  same 
time  with  Barlow,  but  the  coherence  of  his  attack  was  broken 
by  a  swamp,  cutting  his  division  into  unequal  fragments, 
neither  of  which  was  strong  enough  to  produce  a  decided  im 
pression,  though  several  regiments  reached  the  enemy's  works 
and  planted  their  colors  on  them.  In  spite  of  the  great  dis 
advantages  under  which  they  labored,  Gibbon's  men  behaved 
with  great  gallantry.  Many  of  his  best  officers,  including 
Colonels  McMahon,  Porter,  Morris,  McKeen,  and  Haskel, 
were  killed;  while  General  Tyler  was  wounded.  Wright 
and  Smith  advanced  at  the  same  time ;  but  having  already 
had  a  taste  of  what  they  might  expect  in  a  death-grapple 
with  the  defenders  of  the  hostile  entrenchments,  they  did  not 
push  their  attack  with  such  decided  vigor  as  Hancock.  They 
were  readily  repulsed,  loosing  very  heavily,  and  gaining 
nothing  in  return. 

c5 

Warren,  holding  a  long  thin  line,  did  not  feel  himself  strong 
enough  to  risk  a  concentrated  attack,  and  knowing  that  one 
with  thinly  scattered  battalions  could  not  possibly  win,  main 
tained  a  silent  defensive,  with  everything  except  his  artillery. 
Burnside  did  not  advance  at  the  designated  hour,  but  towards 
noon  he  threw  forward  his  right  flank,  and  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  a  position  from  which  the  rebel  left  could  be  advantage 
ously  assailed,  but  the  action  had  already  been  decided  against 
us.  It  did  not  last  an  hour  all  told,  but  in  this  brief  space  of 
time  the  loss  was  very  heavy.  Notwithstanding  this  severe 
intimation  of  the  hopelessness  of  the  task,  later  in  the  day 
Meade  sent  orders  to  each  corps  commander  to  renew  the  at- 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  233 

tack  without  reference  to  the  troops  on  his  right  or  left.  The 
order  was  issued  through  these  officers  to  their  subordinates, 
and  from  them  descended  through  the  usual  channels  to  the 
troops,  but  it  was  silently  disobeyed.  The  morning's  work 
had  convinced  the  army  that  it  was  hopeless  to  tempt  fortune 
further  in  that  direction. 

Grant  has  been  severely  criticised  for  the  details  of  this 
battle,  and  it  is  possible  that  it  should  not  have  been  fought 
at  all ;  but  it  ought  to  be  remembered  that  Grant  could  give 
only  general  directions,  and  that  it  was  Meade's  special  func 
tion  to  see  that  the  actual  dispositions  of  the  troops  were 
made  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the  greatest  possible 
advantage  in  direction  as  well  as  in  tactical  execution,  while 
it  was  the  privilege  and  duty  of  each  corps  commander,  upon 
that  occasion  as  well  as  upon  all  others,  to  use  his  discretion 
in  forming  his  troops  for  attack,  and  in  selecting  or  at  least 
suggesting  that  point  in  his  own  front,  upon  which  his  efforts 
should  be  directed.  It  seems  to  be  well  established,  however, 
that  Meade  gave  his  orders  in  the  same  general  terms  as  they 
were  couched  in  when  they  reached  him,  and  finally  ordered 
the  different  corps  commanders  to  attack  without  regard  to 
each  other.  It  was  not  in  the  character  of  General  Grant, 
any  more  than  in  the  necessities  of  the  case,  that  he  should 
depart  from  his  well  established  and  judicious  practice  in  such 
matters ;  nor  was  it  possible  for  him  to  become  acquainted  so 
thoroughly  with  the  varied  features  of  the  extended  battle 
field  as  to  be  able  to  designate  to  the  subordinate  commanders 
the  points  upon  which  they  should  move. 

It  does  not  appear  from  any  official  report  or  statement  yet 
published,  that  either  Meade  or  any  of  the  corps  commanders, 
ever  proposed  a  meritorious  plan  of  attack  or  pointed  out  a 
weak  place  in  the  enemy's  line,  without  being  encouraged  by 
the  Lieutenant-General  *to  avail  himself  of  it.  Neither  does  it 
appear  in  any  official  paper,  or  in  any  authentic  record  of 
military  events  that  General  Grant  ever  ordered  an  assault  or 
permitted  one,  either  against  troops  in  the  open  field,  or  be 
hind  breastworks,  in  opposition  to  the  expressed  judgment  of 


234  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Meade  or  any  one  of  his  corps  commanders.  Those  who 
know  him  best  are  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  while  he  be 
lieves  celerity  and  hard  fighting  to  be  essential  elements  in 
warfare,  there  is  no  commander  more  opposed  to  hammering 
without  an  object,  or  whose  humane  heart  is  more  deeply  af 
flicted  by  the  unnecessary  effusion  of  blood.  On  the  other 
hand  it  would  be  injustice  to  him  and  an  outrage  upon  com 
mon  sense  to  assert  that  he  is  a  believer  in  partial  or  irreso 
lute  measures.  He  knows  as  well  as  any  man  that  war  can 
not  be  made  affectionately ;  nor  can  it  be  made  successfully, 
without  loss  of  human  life. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 

GRANT'S  PLAN  OF  OPERATION — SHERIDAN  SENT  TO  BREAK  THE  VIR 
GINIA  CENTRAL  RAILROAD,  AND  TO  JOIN  HUNTER — BATTLE  OF 
TREVILLIAN  STATION — GILLMORE'S  MOVEMENT  AGAINST  PETERS 
BURG SMITH  SENT  TO  CITY  POINT — THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 

MOVES  TO  THE  LEFT — CROSSES  THE  CHICKAHOMINY — CAVALRY 
AFFAIR  AT  WHITE  OAK  SWAMP  AND  RIDDLE'S  SHOP — LEE  DECEIVED 
— PONTOON  BRIDGE  ACROSS  THE  JAMES — SMITH  SENT  TO  CAPTURE 
PETERSBURG — HE  CARRIES  THE  OUTER  LINE  OF  WORKS — PETERS 
BURG  RE-ENFORCED — FURTHER  PROGRESS  IMPOSSIBLE — THE  ARMY 
ACROSS  THE  JAMES — HANCOCK  JOINS  SMITH — RENEWAL  OF  THE 
ASSAULT — OBSERVATIONS  AND  REFLECTIONS. 

THE  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  demonstrated  the  impractica 
bility  of  forcing  Lee  to  give  battle  north  of  Richmond,  be 
yond  the  cover  of  entrenchments,  and  also  that  he  could  not 
be  dislodged  by  direct  attack  from  his  well  chosen  position 
in  front  of  the  Chickahominy.  There  remained  nothing  for 
Grant  to  do,  but  to  resort  to  a  siege,  or  to  cross  the  Chick 
ahominy  and  the  James,  and  place  his  army  where  it  would 
break  the  lines  connecting  the  rebel  capital  with  the  South, 
and  thus  isolate  it  completely  from  the  confederacy.  In  this 
case  Lee  would  be  compelled  to  abandon  Richmond  or  to  give 
battle  at  a  great  disadvantage.  This  plan,  it  will  be  observed, 
involved  the  necessity  of  uncovering  Washington,  with  the 
main  body  of  the  army,  but  the  principal  danger  which  was 
originally  apprehended  in  such  an  event  was  necessarily  re 
moved  by  the  proximity  of  the  national  army  to  the  rebel 
capital.  In  other  words,  Grant  in  his  overland  campaign 
had  effectually  protected  the  national  capital,  by  keeping  it 
constantly  behind  him,  and  the  enemy  constantly  engaged. 
There  was  no  time  during  the  entire  month  spent  in  march- 


236  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

ing  and  fighting  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  Chickahominy  at 
which  Lee  could  have  afforded  to  make  any  detachments 
whatever  ;  but  had  Grant  chosen  to  go  to  the  James  River  or 
to  the  lower  Chesapeake  by  water,  Lee  would  have  had  a 
rare  opportunity  for  striking  a  telling  blow  in  the  direction  of 
the  Potomac.  Moreover,  Grant  was  now  in  a  position  to  gain 
all  the  advantages  that  could  have  been  gained  at  any  previ 
ous  time  by  operating  south  of  the  James,  and  from  his  prox 
imity  to  Richmond  and  the  vital  lines  of  supply  upon  which 
Lee  had  to  depend,  it  was  morally  certain  that  Lee  would 
find  a  greater  need  than  ever  of  keeping  his  forces  concen 
trated.  Should  he  lose  either  the  supply  lines  or  the  city,  his 
army  would  be  in  great  jeopardy,  while  the  movement  of  a 
detachment  to  threaten  Washington  could  be  readily  coun 
teracted  by  a  detachment  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  for 
its  defence. 

In  connection  with  this  discussion,  it  should  also  be  re 
membered  that  Lee  was  so  close  to  the  defences  of  Richmond 
that  it  was  impossible,  by  any  flank  movement,  to  interpose 
between  him  and  the  city.  General  Grant  says : 

"  I  was  still  in  a  condition  to  either  move  by  his  left  flank  and  to  in 
vest  Richmond  from  the  north  side,  or  continue  my  move  by  his  right 
flank  to  the  south  side  of  the  James.  While  the  former  might  have  been 
better  as  a  covering  for  Washington,  yet  a  full  survey  of  all  the  ground 
satisfied  me  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to  hold  a  line  north  and  east 
of  Richmond  that  would  protect  the  Fredericksburg  Railroad — a  long, 
vulnerable  line,  which  would  exhaust  much  of  our  strength  to  guard,  and 
that  would  have  to  be  protected  to  supply  the  army,  and  would  leave 
open  to  the  enemy  all  his  lines  of  communication  on  the  south  side  of  the 
James.  My  idea  from  the  start,  liad  been  to  beat  Lee's  army  north  of  Rich 
mond  if  possible.  Then,  after  destroying  his  lines  of  communication  north 
of  the  James  River,  to  transfer  the  army  to  the  south  side  and  besiege  Lee  in 
llichmond,  or  follow  him  south  if  he  should  retreat.  After  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  it  was  evident  that  the  enemy  deemed  it  of  the  first  im 
portance  to  run  no  risks  with  the  army  he  then  had.  He  acted  purely 
on  the  defensive  behind  breastworks,  or  feebly  on  the  offensive  imme 
diately  in  front  of  them,  and  when  in  case  of  repulse,  he  could  easily 
retire  behind  them.  Without  a  greater  sacrifice  of  life  than  I  was  will 
ing  to  make,  all  could  not  be  accomplished  that  I  had  designed  north 
of  Richmond.  I  therefore  determined  to  continue  to  hold  substantially 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  237 

the  ground  we  then  occupied,  taking  advantage  of  any  favorable  cir 
cumstances  that  might  present  themselves,  until  cavalry  could  be 
sent  to  Charlottesville  and  Gordonsville  to  effectually  break  up  the 
railroad  connection  between  Richmond  and  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
and  Lynchburg  ;  and,  when  the  cavalry  got  well  off,  to  move  the 
army  to  the  south  side  of  the  James  River,  by  the  enemy's  right 
flank,  when  I  felt  I  could  cut  off  all  his  sources  of  supplies  except 
by  canal." 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  Sheridan  proceeded  on  the  7th 
of  June,  with  the  divisions  of  Torbert  and  Gregg  to  Char 
lottesville,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  the  Virginia  Central 
Railroad,  and  meeting  at  that  place  the  forces  under  Hunter, 
with  whom  he  was  expected  to  return  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  It  was  also  anticipated  that  this  movement  would 
cause  Lee  to  detach  his  cavalry,  and  thereby  reduce  his  power 
to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  Chickahominy  and  James  by 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  This  expectation  was  fully  real 
ized;  for  when  Sheridan's  advance  under  Torbert  arrived  at 
Trevillian's  Station  on  the  llth,  it  met  Hampton's  division  of 
cavalry,  while  Gregg  encountered  Fitzhugh  Lee's  division  on 
the  Louisa  Court  House  road.  A  series  of  brilliant  maneu 
vers  and  sharp  combats  ensued,  in  which  Sheridan  captured 
about  500  prisoners  ;  but  hearing  that  Hunter  had  passed  on 
towards  Lynchburg  without  turning  towards  Charlottesville ; 
that  Ewell  was  marching  towards  the  same  place,  and  that 
Breckenridge  had  gone  to  Gordonsville  with  a  considerable 
force,  Sheridan  gave  up  the  attempt  to  join  the  national  force 
in  the  valley,  and  decided  to  return.  On  the  12th,  while 
Gregg  was  tearing  up  railroads,  Torbert  was  attacked  by  a 
strong  force  of  the  enemy,  with  whom  he  was  hotly  engaged 
nearly  all  day.  By  this  time  •Sheridan  had  become  encum 
bered  with  a  large  number  of  wounded  and  prisoners,  and 
had  expended  most  of  his  ammunition,  and  therefore  set  out 
to  return  to  the  army,  making  a  detour  through  Spottsyl- 
vania,  Walkerton,  and  King  and  Queen  Court  House  to  the 
White  House. 

In  the  interval,  by  Grant's  directions,  Butler  sent  a  force  of 
the  infantry  and  cavalry  under  Gillmore  and  Kautz,  from  Ber- 


238  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

muda  Hundred;  with  orders  to  capture  Petersburg  if  possible 
and  to  break  up  the  railroads  and  bridges  crossing  the  Ap- 
pomattox.  Kautz  moving  rapidly  and  acting  with  commend 
able  boldness,  drove  back  the  local  militia,  captured  the  works 
on  the  south  side  and  reached  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  but 
encountering  sharp  resistance  from  better  troops,  he  was  soon 
driven  out.  Gillmore  found  the  works  on  his  side  very  strong, 
and  thinking  it  useless  to  attack  them  with  so  small  a  force,  he 
decided  not  to  do  so,  and  returned  to  Bermuda  Hundred. 
Grant  attaching  great  importance  to  the  possession  of  Peters 
burg,  had  sent  Smith's  troops  to  the  White  House,  and  thence 
rapidly  to  City  Point  by  steam  transports.  The  express  pur 
pose  of  this  movement  was  to  concentrate  a  sufficient  force 
tinder  Butler,  to  render  the  capture  of  Petersburg  a  matter 
of  certainty  before  the  enemy,  divining  his  intention,  could 
re-enforce  the  place  sufficiently  to  resist  him.  While  this 
concentration  was  in  progress,  Grant  had  perfected  arrange 
ments  for  the  passage  of  the  Chickahominy  and  the  James. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  the  Ninth 
corps  was  withdrawn  from  its  place  on  the  extreme  right  of 
the  line,  and  put  into  position  between  Warren  and  Smith. 
On  the  next  day  the  Fifth  corps  was  withdrawn,  and  massed 
in  rear  of  the  works,  leaving  the  Ninth  corps  again  on  the 
right.  The  Second  corps  then  extended  itself  towards  the 
Chickahominy,  while  the  Fifth  corps  was  a  short  time  after 
wards  posted  on  the  extreme  left,  extending  that  flank  to 
Despatch  Station,  on  the  York  River  Railroad.  Sheridan 
having  been  detached,  as  before  related,  Wilson  was  ordered 
to  send  one  brigade  of  his  division  to  picket  the  lower  Chick 
ahominy.  By  these  gradual  extensions  of  the  different  corps 
towards  the  left,  the  army  was  brought  into  position  near  the 
lower  crossings  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  by  the  night  of  the 
12th  of  June,  everything  was  in  readiness  to  push  forward  in 
quest  of  better  fortune  than  had  yet  cheered  the  gallant  but 
sorely  tried  veterans.  Wilson,  with  Chapman's  brigade,  forced 
a  passage  at  Long  Bridge ;  under  cover  of  darkness,  the  dis 
mounted  troopers  struggled  through  the  swamps,  clambered 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  239 

over  drift-logs,  and  finally  crossed  the  stream  by  using  the 
limbs  of  the  overlapping  trees  as  a  bridge.  As  soon  as  the 
leading  detachment  had  gained  a  footing  on  the  west  side  of 
the  stream,  the  rebel  force  of  observation  fled.  The  pontoon 
bridge  was  rapidly  laid,  and  shortly  after  midnight  the  bri 
gade  of  troopers  had  all  crossed  and  pushed  out  towards 
Richmond  by  the  road  skirting  White  Oak  Swamp,  followed 
closely  by  Warren's  corps. 

At  dawn  the  rebel  cavalry  was  encountered  in  some  force, 
but  by  eight  o'clock  Chapman  had  driven  it  across  White  Oak 
Swamp  on  the  road  leading  from  Malvern  Hill  towards  the 
rear  of  Lee's  old  position  in  front  of  Cold  Harbor.  Craw 
ford's  division  relieved  the  cavalry  at  this  crossing,  and  thus 
enabled  it  to  make  a  strong  demonstration  in  the  direction  of 
Richmond.  A  sharp  fight  ensued  at  Riddle's  shop,  near  the 
junction  of  several  roads  all  leading  towards  the  city,  and  the 
enemy  were  routed.  Meanwhile  Hancock's  and  the  rest  of 
Warren's  corps  were  filing  rapidly  across  the  bridge,  and 
moving  towards  Wilcox's  Landing  on  the  James.  Wright  and 
Burnside  following  another  route,  crossed  at  Jones'  Bridge 
and  marched  to  Charles  City ;  while  the  trains  crossed  still 
farther  down  at  Cole's  Ferry.  Mclntosh's  brigade  of  cavalry 
which  had  been  left  on  the  right,  interposed  itself  between 
the  rear  brigade  and  the  rebel  infantry,  and  by 'ceaseless  activ 
ity  during  two  days  and  nights,  succeeded  in  bringing  up  the 
last  of  our  forces  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  By  the  morn 
ing  of  the  15th,  the  entire  army  stood  upon  the  north  bank 
of  the  James,  having  marched  fifty-five  miles  in  two  days. 
Lee  was  completely  deceived  in  regard  to  Grant's  inten 
tions,  for  although  he  soon  discovered  the  passage  of  the 
Chickahominy,  he  supposed  a  direct  advance  upon  Rich 
mond  to  be  the  object  in  view.  He  therefore  moved 
out  of  his  lines  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  marched  towards  the 
junction  of  roads  at  Riddle's  shop.  His  leading  divisions 
reached  there  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  13th,  and  passing 
across  Wilson's  front,  proceeded  at  once  to  entrench  them 
selves  in  a  position  covering  the  main  approackes  to  the  city. 


240  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

After  nightfall,  Crawford  seeing  evidence  of  activity  on  the 
part  of  the  rebels,  proceeded  to  rejoin  his  corps  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Harrison's  Landing  ;  leaving  Wilson  to  make  head  as 
best  he  might  against  the  advance  of  the  rebel  infantry.  After 
holding  on  till  nearly  midnight,  the  latter  fell  back  as  far  as 
Nancy's  shop.  The  next  day  the  arrival  of  Mclntosh's  bri 
gade  united  his  division,  and  enabled  him  to  thoroughly  patrol 
the  country  between  White  Oak  Swamp  and  Malvern  Hill, 
and  to  make  effective  demonstrations  upon  the  enemy.  These 
feints  and  dashes  secured  the  movements  of  the  army  and  en 
abled  it  to  lay  bridges  and  make  all  arrangements  for  the  final 
passage  to  the  south  side  of  the  James  before  Lee  had  fully 
discovered  its  intentions.  This  in  a  great  measure  neutralized 
the  immense  advantage  which  Lee  again  had  in  moving  upon 
a  short  chord,  while  Grant  was  compelled  to  march  almost 
around  the  circle.  Grant's  calculations  were  all  made  with 
great  precision  and  certainty.  The  orders  for  moving  the  army 
were  admirable.  The  long  pontoon  bridge  across  the  James, 
constructed  by  Major  Duane,  was  a  marvel  of  its  kind.  Leav 
ing  these  details  to  General  Meade,  Grant  in  person  lost  no 
time  after  reaching  the  James  Eiver  in  proceeding  by  steamer 
to  Bermuda  Hundred,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  neces 
sary  instructions  for  the  capture  of  Petersburg.  Smith  hav 
ing  already  arrived,  was  put  in  charge  of  all  the  available 
troops  which  Butler  could  give  him,  and  on  the  night  of  the 
14th,  began  his  movement  upon  the  town  in  accordance  with 
Grant's  verbal  instructions. 

He  made  a  rapid  march,  and  by  daylight  of  the  15th,  was 
confronting  the  rebel  forces  near  Petersburg.  His  advance 
was  made  in  three  columns,  composed  of  Kautz's  cavalry  and 
the  infantry  divisions  of  Ilinks,  Brooks,  and  Martindale. 
Skirmishing  began  at  an  early  hour,  resulting  in  driving  the 
rebels  into  the  works  about  Petersburg,  with  the  loss  of  one 
gun.  It  was  noon,  however,  before  all  the  troops  were  brought 
up,  and  nearly  sundown  before  the  final  dispositions  for  the 
attack  had  been  perfected.  Smith  being  an  able  engineer  and 
a  General  of  fine  judgment,  did  everything  with  deliberation 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  241 

and  precision  ;  his  cavalry  was  posted  well  out  upon  the  ex 
posed  flank,  his  batteries  occupied  commanding  positions, 
while  his  infantry  divisions  were  formed  in  long  but  mutually 
supporting  lines.  At  seven  o'clock,  when  it  had  begun  to  grow 
dusk,  the  troops,  both  white  and  colored,  deployed  in  a  heavy 
line  of  skirmishers,  advanced  rapidly  to  the  attack,  carrying 
everything  before  them,  capturing  two  and  a  half  miles  of 
redoubt  and  rifle-pits,  with  15  pieces  of  artillery,  and  taking 
800  prisoners.  It  was  an  auspicious  beginning  ;  Lee  had  not 
yet  arrived,  and  the  local  militia  were  a  different  sort  of 
soldiery  from  that  which  had  been  encountered  at  Cold 
Harbor  ;  but  darkness  having  set  in,  Smith  suspended  further 
operations  in  order  to  reform  his  troops,  although,  says  Grant : 
"  Between  the  line  thus  captured  and  Petersburg,  there  were 
no  other  works,  and  there  was  no  evidence  that  the  enemy 
had  re-enforced  Petersburg  with  a  single  brigade  from  any 
source.  The  night  was  clear,  the  moon  shining  brightly,  and 
favorable  to  further  operations.  General  Hancock,  with  two 
divisions  of  the  Second  corps,  reached  Smith  just  after  dark, 
and  offered  the  service  of  these  troops,  as  he  (Smith)  might 
wish,  waving  rank  to  the  named  commander,  who  he  naturally 
supposed,  knew  best  the  position  of  affairs,  and  what  to  do 
with  the  troops.  But  instead  of  taking  these  troops,  and 
pushing  at  once  into  Petersburg,  he  requested  General  Han 
cock  to  relieve  a  part  of  his  line  in  the  captured  works,  which 
was  done  before  midnight."  The  opportunity  was  deferred, 
and  Petersburg  was  lost.  That  night  Lee's  advance  reached 
the  city,  and  by  the  next  day  its  enclosing  lines  were  bris 
tling  with  rebel  bayonets.  Fortifications  arose  on  every  avail 
able  spot.  Grant  who  had  returned  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  for  the  purpose  of  hurrying  it  forward,  joined  Smith 
at  an  early  hour  on  the  16th,  and  was  chagrined  to  see  that 
nothing  could  be  done  with  the  force  then  at  hand.  Burnside 
and  the  rest  of  Hancock's  corps  were  hastened  forward,  and 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  an  attack  was  made,  continuing 
with  intermissions  and  varying  success  till  six  o'clock  the  next 

*  Grant's  Official  Report. 
10 


242  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

morning.  Several  more  of  the  enemy's  redoubts  to  the  left 
of  Smith  were  taken,  together  with  several  pieces  of  artillery 
and  about  400  prisoners.  On  the  17th,  the  Fifth  corps  ar 
rived,  and  during. that  and  the  succeeding  day,  the  fighting 
was  renewed,  but  only  forced  the  enemy  to  contract  his  lines, 
leaving  the  investing  army  in  possession  of  much  advantageous 
ground. 

The  reader  will  have  perceived  from  the  foregoing  precise 
statement  of  facts,  that  in  the  movement  upon  Petersburg, 
Grant  had  clearly  outwitted  Lee,  and  had  beaten  him  on  the 
march  to  the  town  by  an  entire  day,  but  through  the  delay  in 
making  the  attack,  and  its  untimely  suspension  by  General 
Smith,  the  ripest  fruits  of  this  superior  generalship  had  not 
been  gathered.  A  contemporary  writer,  in  discussing  this 
operation  has  not  hesitated  to  say :  "  There  can  be  no  ques 
tion  as  to  who  is  responsible  for  the  failure  to  take  Petersburg. 
This  is  no  other  than  the  Lieutenant-General  himself.*  "  To 
support  this  assertion  he  quotes  from  a  paper  said  to  be  on 
file  in  the  archives  of  the  army,  and  upon  which  General 
Meade  has  made  the  following  endorsement :  "  Had  Han 
cock  or  myself  known  Petersburg  was  to  be  attacked  Peters 
burg  would  have  fallen."  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  General 
Meade  could  have  written  such  a  sentence,  for  on  the  day 
previous  to  Smith's  movement,  he  was  personally  directed  by 
General  Grant  to  order  Hancock  to  march  directly  for  Peters 
burg  by  the  shortest  road  in  order  to  support  the  attack  to 
be  made  there  by  Smith. 

But  independent  of  these  orders  which  were  given  to  him 
verbally  by  the  Lieutenant-General,  as  were  many  of  the 
most  important  orders  up  to  that  epoch  of  the  campaign, 
both  Meade  and  Hancock  must  have  known  that  the  army 
landing  where  it  did,  must  necessarily  take  possession  of  and 
march  through  Petersburg  in  order  to  reach  Richmond,  or  to 
secure  a  safe  base  of  operations  against  the  enemy  in  the 
field.  In  truth  there  was  not  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  but 
knew  that  the  rules  of  strategy  required  as  much ;  but  the 
*  Swinton's  "  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  p.,  506. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  243 

fact  that  Meade  had  specific  orders  from  General  Grant,  and 
the  additional  fact  that  two  divisions  of  Hancock's  corps  act 
ually  joined  Smith  at  Petersburg,  settle  all  discussion  upon 
this  point.  The  failure  of  Smith  to  reap  the  full  advantage 
of  the  brilliant  maneuver  by  which  he  carried  the  outer  line 
of  the  Petersburg  defenses,  was  a  matter  which  Grant  could 
not  possibly  control.  He  had  perfect  confidence  in  the  judg 
ment  and  generalship  of  that  officer,  but  they  were  both  at 
fault  upon  this  occasion.  Without  wasting  time  in  vain  re 
grets,  Grant  set  about  arranging  a  plan  by  which  the  same  or 
equal  advantages  might  be  otherwise  obtained.  He  had  sent 
Wright  with  a  part  of  the  Sixth  corps  to  Bermuda  Hundred, 
to  re-enforce  Butler,  who  had  moved  out  and  occupied  the 
rebel  -works  on  the  railroad,  which  had  been  abandoned  in 
order  to  re-enforce  Petersburg.  Grant  directed  that  Gen 
eral  to  strengthen  his  advance  and  secure  his  hold  upon 
the  railroad,  but  instead  of  doing  so  with  the  combined 
forces  at  his  disposal,  he  allowed  Wright  to  halt  near  the 
outer  lines.  As  soon  as  the  pressure  against  Petersburg  was 
relieved,  the  rebels  returned  to  Butler's  front,  and  before  he 
could  take  effective  measures  to  avert  it  droye  him  back 
into  his  fortified  line  which  encircled  his  camps  at  Bermuda 
Hundred. 

The  railroad  was  not  seriously  damaged,  but  had  this  move 
ment  been  successful  in  securing  a  firm  hold  upon  it,  Peters 
burg  must  have  fallen,  for  Lee  would  have  been  compelled  to 
weaken  it  so  much  in  trying  to  dislodge  Butler,' that  Grant's 
vigorous  attacks  on  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th,  must  have  been 
successful,  notwithstanding  Smith's  well-meant  but  ill-timed 
suspension  of  a  successful  advance,  because  of  coming  dark 
ness,  or  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  his  flanks  and  straightening 
his  lines.  No  attempt  to  show  that  either  Meade  or  Han 
cock  did  not  know  what  he  was  expected  to  do,  is  sufficient 
to  remove  the  responsibility  for  the  failure  to  take  Peters 
burg,  from  the  shoulders  which  should  bear  it.  During 
the  whole  year  which  followed,  those  officers  had  abundant 
opportunities  to  exert  an  untrammeled  influence  in  accom- 


244  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

plishing  the  object  which  the  country  had  so  much  at 
heart,  but  notwithstanding  their  great  merits  and  untiring 
zeal,  it  will  be  shown  that  Petersburg  did  not  fall  till 
Grant  ceased  to  trust  them  exclusively  with  the  management 
of  details,  and  took  the  control  of  the  army  directly  into  his 
own  hands. 


CHAPTER    XXYI. 

FAILURE  OF  THE  MOVEMENT  AGAINST  PETERSBURG — BUTLER'S  BRIDGE 
OVER  THE  JAMES — BASE  OF  SUPPLIES  ESTABLISHED  AT  CITY 
POINT— PRELIMINARY  MOVEMENTS  IN  THE  INVESTMENT  OF  PETERS 
BURG — WILSON'S  RAID — COMBAT  AT  NOTAWAY  STATION — FIGHT 
AT  SAPPONY  CHURCH  AND  REAM'S  STATION — RESULTS  OF  THE 
RAID — THE  LINES  BEFORE  PETERSBURG — REBEL  SORTIE — BURN- 
SIDE'S  MINE — JOINT  OPERATIONS  OF  HANCOCK  AND  SHERIDAN  AT 
DEEP  BOTTOM — EXPLOSION  OF  THE  MINE — THE  ASSAULT — GRANT 
DISAPPOINTED  —  FAULTY  EXECUTION  OF  DETAILS — LEE  SENDS 
EARLY  AGAINST  WASHINGTON — SIGEL  RETIRES  FROM  MARTINS- 
BURG —  HUNTER  ORDERED  TO  HARPER'S  FERRY — GOVERNMENT 
CALLS  UPON  GRANT  TO  PROTECT  WASHINGTON — SIXTH  AND  NINE 
TEENTH  CORPS  SENT  FORWARD — BATTLE  AT  MONOCACY  BRIDGE — 
WALLACE  RETIRES  TO  BALTIMORE — EARLY  MOVES  ON  WASHING 
TON  AND  IS  DRIVEN  OFF — WRIGHT  ORDERED  TO  PURSUE  EARLY 

SKIRMISH  AT  SNICKER'S  FERRY — AVERILL  DEFEATS  THE  REBEL 
CAVALRY  AT  WINCHESTER — SIXTH  AND  NINETEENTH  CORPS  OR 
DERED  TO  WASHINGTON — EARLY  AGAIN  ADVANCING  TOWARDS  THE 
POTOMAC — REBEL  CAVALRY  AT  CHAMBERSBURG,  PA. — SHERIDAN 
ORDERED  NORTH — GRANT  GOES  TO  WASHINGTON — CONFERS  WITH 
HUNTER  AT  MONOCACY — HUNTER'S  INSTRUCTIONS — HE  IS  RELIEVED 
BY  SHERIDAN — THE  MIDDLE  MILITARY  DIVISION  ESTABLISHED — 
SHERIDAN  ASSIGNED  TO  COMMAND. 

THE  failure  of  Grant's  preliminary  but  well-planned  at 
tempts  against  Petersburg,  made  it  certain  that  he  would  now 
be  compelled  to  gain  by  hard  fighting  and  superior  endurance, 
the  vantage  ground  that  he  had  reasonably  hoped  to  secure 
by  judicious  combinations  and  rapid  marching.  With  the 
view  of  distracting  the  enemy's  attention,  and  menacing  Rich 
mond,  he  ordered  Butler  to  lay  a  bridge  across  the  James, 
connecting  his  camp  with  Deep  Bottom,  and  to  establish  at 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

that  place  at  icast  one  brigade  of  his  command.  This  order 
was  carried  into  effect  during  the  night  of  the  20th  and  the 
morning  of  the  next  day,  thus  extending  Grant's  lines  across 
both  the  James  and  Appomattox,  and  giving  him  the  means 
of  communicating  rapidly  with  all  parts  of  his  command. 

The  base  of  supplies  was  brought  permanently  to  City 
Point,  wharves  and  storehouses  were  built,  and  in  a  short 
time  they  were  covered  with  the  multifarious  articles  required 
by  the  army.  Hospitals  and  bakeries  were  established,  trans 
ports  crowded  the  landings,  ammunition  of  all  kinds,  entrench 
ing  tools,  and  the  ample  stores  of  the  Christian  and  Sanitary 
Commissions  were  brought  forward  in  boundless  profusion. 
A  close  investment  of  Petersburg  had  now  become  necessary, 
and  in  order  that  it  should  be  successfully  made,  the  army  was 
required  to  entrench  its  position  systematically.  So  ready 
had  it  become  in  this  art  that  by  the  20th,  the  entrenchments 
were  in  such  shape  as  to  permit  the  extension  of  the  army 
towards  the  left,  as  far  as  the  Weldon  Road.  On  the  next 
day  the  Second  corps  moved  out  and  took  position  to  the  left 
and  rear  of  Hancock.  Wilson's  cavalry,  as  soon  as  the  army 
had  all  crossed  the  James,  was  thrown  forward  to  Prince 
George  Court-house,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  and  cover 
ing  the  left  of  the  army  as  far  round  as  the  Blackwater.  In 
order  to  make  the  investment  complete  it  had  been  determined 
to  extend  the  infantry  by  successive  movements  till  the  invest 
ing  line  should  cross  all  the  railroads,  and  its  left  rest  upon 
the  Appomattox.  To  relieve  these  movements  of  a  part  of 
their  danger,  and  to  effectually  isolate  Petersburg  from  the 
rest  of  the  rebel  territory,  Grant  directed  that  all  the  cavalry 
force  then  with  the  army  should  be  sent  out  to  break  up  the 
Danville  and  Southside  Railroad,  with  authority  to  join  Hunter 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Lynchburg,  to  cross  the  Roanoke  and 
march  to  the  North  Carolina  sea-board,  or  to  push  on  and 
join  Sherman  in  Northern  Georgia,  as  should  be  found  most 
practicable. 

Accordingly  at  an  early  hour  on  the  22d,  General  Wilson, 
with  his  own  division  of  cavalry,  re-enforced  by  Kautz's  di- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  247 

vision,  belonging  to  the  Army  of  the  James,  marched  rapidly 
towards  the  interior,  crossing  the  Weldon  Road  at  Ream's 
Station,  destroying  the  depot  and  tearing  up  the  track  for 
some  distance  ;  then  bearing  more  to  the  northward  he  struck 
the  Danville  Road,  at  a  point  fifteen  miles  from  Petersburg. 
He  was  followed  by  one  division  of  rebel  cavalry,  but  dispos 
ing  his  rear  brigade  under  Chapman  to  cover  the  working 
parties,  he  pursued  his  way  along  the  railroad,  tearing  up  the 
track,  burning  the  stations,  ties,  wood-piles,  saw-mills  and 
tanks,  and  dispersing  the  detachments  of  militia  which  were 
encountered.  Near  Notaway  Court  House,  having  lost  an 
hour  or  two  by  being  misled  through  the  carelessness  of  the 
advanced  guard,  he  was  overtaken  by  W.  II.  F.  Lee,  and  after 
a  sharp  combat  of  several  hours,  in  which  Chapman's  brigade 
did  the  principal  fighting,  he  repulsed  the  force  confronting 
him  and  proceeded  to  Meherrin  Station  where  he  formed  a 
junction  with  Kautz,  who  had  been  sent  to  seize  and  destroy 
the  junction  at  Burks ville.  From  the  latter  place  to  the  Ro- 
anoke  Bridge  the  Danville  Road  was  completely  destroyed, 
but  finding  the  rebel  militia  strongly  entrenched  at  the  bridge, 
and  being  closely  followed  by  Lee's  cavalry,  after  an  ineffect 
ual  effort  to  burn  the  bridge,  he  set  out  to  return  to  the  Army 
on  the  James  River.  - 

Marching  rapidly  south-eastward  and  then  northward, 
crossing  the  Meherrin  and  Notaway  Rivers,  he  took  the 
road  towards  Prince  George  Court  House,  but  did  not  suc 
ceed  in  passing  Stony  Creek  before  he  encountered  the  whole 
of  Hampton's  cavalry,  occupying  a  strong  position  at  Sap- 
pony  Church.  The  bulk  of  this  force,  when  the  raid  began, 
was  known  to  be  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  engaged  in 
a  campaign  against  Sheridan,  and  it  was  confidently  expected 
that  it  would  be  kept  too  busy  to  pay  any  attention  to  Wil 
son.  But  as  it  had  repassed  the  James  and  now  barred  the 
roads  towards  Petersburg,  a  determined  and  bloody  engage 
ment  ensued,  lasting  from  late  in  the  afternoon,  till  daylight 
the  next  day.  Wilson,  finding  that  it  was  impossible  to  force 
a  crossing  of  Stony  Creek,  in  the  face  of  such  odds,  made  a 


248  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

detour  from  his  left  with  the  view  of  crossing  higher  up  and 
reaching  the  army  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eeam's  Station; 
but  on  arriving  at  that  place,  instead  of  finding  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  he  met  the  rebel  infantry,  ready  to  dispute  his 
further  progress.  His  command  was  jaded  with  constant 
inarching  and  fighting,  and  encumbered  by  wounded  men, 
of  whom  he  had  two  hundred  and  eighty  in  all  kinds  of  vehi 
cles.  A  rapid  survey  of  the  situation  convinced  him  that  it 
would  be  madness  to  undertake  to  break  the  serried  lines  of 
infantry  in  his  front,  and  that  there  was  nothing  left  to  be 
done  but  to  run  for  it,  unless  succor  should  soon  arrive. 
A  staff  officer  had  been  sent  at  an  early  hour  with  a  squadron 
to  break  his  way  through,  and  report  to  Meade  for  assistance. 
After  waiting  as  long  as  it  was  safe,  replenishing  ammunition, 
and  parking  the  ambulance  and  ammunition  train,  which  it 
was  necessary  to  abandon,  Wilson  began  his  retrograde  move 
ment.  In  withdrawing,  his  rear  guard  and  artillery  were 
caught  in  flank  and  driven  off  the  road,  and  the  latter  while 
crossing  Hatcher's  Run  had  to  be  abandoned.  Kautz  worked 
his  way  through  the  woods  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
army  that  night,  while  Wilson  crossed  the  Notaway  twice, 
and  the  Blackwater  once,  reaching  the  army  in  safety  after  a 
march  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  in  eighty  hours,  during 
the  whole  of  which,  except  six  hours,  his  command  was  engaged 
either  in  marching  or  fighting.  This  raid  had  been  eminently 
successful  till  it  reached  Stony  Creek  on  its  return.  The  rail 
road  was  broken  so  that  the  rebels  were  unable  to  use  it  for 
something  over  two  months,  and  had  the  army  succeeded  in 
covering  the  southern  approaches  to  Petersburg,  as  General 
Meade  informed  Wilson  that  it  intended  to  do,  or  had  Meade 
looked  out  properly  to  prevent  Hampton  from  dropping  Sher 
idan  and  falling  upon  Wilson,  all  danger  to  the  latter  in  re 
turning  would  have  been  averted.*  As  it  was,  General 
Grant  avers  in  his  report,  that  the  danger  inflicted  upon  the 
enemy  by  this  expedition  more  than  compensated  for  the  loss 
it  sustained. 

*  See  Sheridan's  Report,  "  Conduct  of  the  War,"  vol.  ii,,  Supplement. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  249 

As  before  stated,  it  had  been  designed  to  extend  the  left  of 
the  infantry  so  as  to  completely  encircle  Petersburg  on  the 
south  side,  but  at  the  first  movement  toward  the  Weldon  Road, 
the  enemy  manifested  great  determination  to  prevent  it.  To 
the  Second  corps  was  assigned  the  task  of  making  the  first 
advance,  but  it  had  not  got  fairly  under  way  before  it  was 
compelled  to  halt.  The  general  movement  was  then  suspended 
and  converted  into  an  attempt  to  envelope  the  right  flank  of 
the  rebel  lines.  For  this  purpose  the  left  wing  of  the  Second 
corps,  consisting  of  the  divisions  of  Mott  and  Barlow,  was 
thrown  forward,  but  as  the  maneuver  was  executed  without 
any  regard  to  the  Sixth  corps,  and  was  so  directed  as  to  leave 
a  constantly  increasing  gap  between  the  two  corps,  the  enemy 
as  a  matter  of  course,  availed  himself  of  this  chance,  pushed 
forward  into  the  opening,  driving  back  the  flanks  of  both  the 
Sixth  and  Second  corps,  sweeping  away  Barlow's  and  Mott's 
divisions  like  leaves  before  an  autumn  wind.  Pressing  on  he 
struck  Gibbon's  division  in  the  left  flank  and  rear,  rolling  it  up 
like  a  scroll,  and  capturing  entrenchments,  guns  and  stand 
ards,  besides  2,500  prisoners.  This  vigorous  and  unexpected 
swoop  caused  a  rapid  contraction  of  the  national  left,  and  re 
sulted  in  throwing  it  upon  the  defensive  for. several  weeks 
thereafter.  The  plan  of  this  day's  operations  could  not  have 
been  more  faultily  carried  out ;  for  all  the  fighting  which  fol 
lowed,  it  resulted  in  no  advantage  whatever  to  the  Union 
army,  but  was  the  cause  of  severe  loss  and  many  troubles. 

Both  armies  now  for  awhile  abandoned  the  aggressive 
policy,  and  set  about  strengthening  their  lines.  The  rebels 
forthwith  developed  their  rifle-trench  into  a  formidable  chain 
of  redans,  connected  by  parapets  of  strong  profile,  covered 
by  ditches,  abattis  and  entanglements.  Beginning  in  front 
of  Butler,  their  line  crossed  the  Appomattox  below  Peters 
burg,  encircling  that  place  completely  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  Union  artillery.  The  southern  or  western  end  of  these 
works  was  thrown  forward  to  cover  as  much  as  possible,  the 
system  of  communication  with  the  South  and  South-west. 
The  railroads  being  broken,  Lee  was  compelled  to  supply  his 


250  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

army  by  hauling  his  stores  from  Stony  Creek  depot  with 
wagons.  In  order  to  protect  them,  great  vigilance  and  a  de 
termined  front  on  his  outer  flank  were  necessary. 

Grant  now  allowed  his  army  to  rest  from  fighting,  but  put 
it  to  work  in  rendering  its  position  entirely  secure.  The  en 
trenchments  were  strengthened,  by  all  the  means  available, 
artillery  of  larger  calibre  was  brought  forward,  and  every 
effort  was  made  to  consolidate  the  army  and  render  it  efficient. 
No  systematic  siege  operations  were  undertaken,  but  when 
ever  opportunity  offered,  our  lines  were  advanced  and  new 
fortifications  were  built.  Burnside's  corps  contained  a  regi 
ment  of  Pennsylvania  miners,  commanded  by  Colonel  Pleas- 
ants,  an  active  and  enterprising  officer,  who  asked  and  obtained 
authority  to  sink  a  shaft  and  drive  a  gallery  under  a  rebel 
work,  situated  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  to  the  front, 
on  the  slopes  of  a  ridge  known  as  Cemetery  Hill.  This  work 
was  carried  forward  rapidly,  and,  when  finished,  a  system  of 
mines  in  close  connection  with  each  other,  was  established, 
and  all  the  necessary  arrangements  were  made  for  exploding 
them  simultaneously.  The  enterprise  at  first  attracted  but 
little  attention  and  nobody  had  much  faith  in  its  practicability 
or  efficiency,  but  now  that  the  mine  was  completed  Grant  con 
ceived  the  idea  that  its  explosion  would  afford  him  opportu 
nity  of  storming  the  enemy's  works.  It  has  been  previously 
stated  that  Butler  had  constructed  a  pontoon  bridge  across 
the  James,  thus  opening  close  communication  with  Deep  Bot 
tom.  General  Foster's  brigade  of  troops  held  this  position, 
and  caused  Lee  to  detach  a  corresponding  force  with  which  he 
kept  up  communication  by  a  pontoon  bridge  at  Drury's  Bluff. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  Grant  silently  withdrew  Hancock's 
corps  from  its  place  in  the  investing  lines,  and  directed  him  to 
proceed  to  Deep  Bottom  where  he  would  be  joined  by  Sheri 
dan  with  two  divisions  of  cavalry,  after  which  he  was  in 
structed  to  make  a  strong  demonstration  in  the  direction  of 
Chapin's  Farm,  while  Sheridan,  strengthened  by  Kautz, 
should  make  a  dash  towards  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad 
and  Richmond.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  Hancock  turned 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GEAXT.  251 

the  left  flank  of  the  force  confronting  Foster,  by  a  skillful 
maneuver,  captured  four  guns  and  drove  the  enemy  from  his 
front  line  to  his  second  beyond  Bailey's  Creek.  Sheridan 
moving  still  farther  to  the  right,  also  drove  back  the  rebels 
capturing  several  hundred  prisoners.  But  their  new  line  was 
very  strong,  and  after  a  careful  examination  Hancock  con 
cluded  that  it  was  impracticable  to  dislodge  them.  Lee,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  was  not  long  in  hearing  of  these  menacing- 
operations  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  and  therefore 
hastened  to  strengthen  the  troops  already  there,  by  large  re- 
enforcements  from  the  defenses  of  Petersburg.  By  the  next 
morning;  five  of  the  eifjht  rebel  divisions  under  Lee  were  con- 

O  O 

fronting  our  troops  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  and  soon 
after  daylight  they  assumed  the  offensive,  attacking  Sheridan 
on  the  New  Market  and  Long  Bridge  roads,  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Darbytown.  The  dismounted  troopers  fought  stub 
bornly,  but  they  could  not  contend  with  the  superior  numbers 
of  the  rebel  infantry  and  were  forced  to  retire,  though  under 
the  energetic  command  of  Sheridan  they  finally  succeeded  in 
repulsing  their  assailants.  Hancock  remained  strictly  on  the 
defensive,  both 'on  that  day  and  the  next;  and  on  the  night 
of  the  29th,  in  compliance  with  Grant's  orders,  he  returned 
to  his  old  'position  in  front  of  Petersburg,  followed  by  Sheri 
dan  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  assault  already  ordered 
to  take  place  immediately  after  the  explosion  of  the  mine. 
The  mine  was  sprung  between  four  and  five  o'clock  A.  M., 
July  30th,  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  later  than  the  time  speci 
fied,  blowing  up  an  entire  battery  and  a  part  of  a  regiment. 
The  rebels  were  much  surprised,  and  not  knowing  when  the 
next  explosion  would  take  place,  fled  from  that  part  of  their 
line  in  disorder.  But  the  assaulting  column  of  the  Ninth 
corps  through  the  failure  of  the  engineers  to  prepare  proper 
debouches  from  its  lines  was  not  able  to  advance  promptly  or 
in  proper  order,  so  that  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  were  again 
lost.  In  the  meantime,  the  rebels  recovered  from  their  sur 
prise,  and  when  the  assaulting  column  reached  the  crater  and 
the  works  on  its  ri^rht  and  left,  they  were  met  by  a  determined 


252  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

artillery  and  musketry  fire  from  the  enemy  who  had  reformed 
on  commanding  ground  somewhat  to  the  rear.  The  advance 
was  therefore  checked,  and  although  new  troops  were  thrown 
forward,  many  of  them  into  the  crater,  they  did  not  succeed 
in  penetrating  beyond.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  the 
opportunity  was  lost ;  and  that  to  save  the  further  effusion  of 
blood  the  troops  must  be  withdrawn  to  their  own  lines.  This 
was  done,  but  not  till  after  they  had  sustained  heavy  loss. 
"  Thus,"  says  Grant,  "  terminated  in  disaster  what  promised 
to  be  the  most  suecessful  assault  of  the  campaign."  The 
combination  of  the  movements,  and  the  direction  of  the 
forces,  had  been  made  with  consummate  ability.  Lee  was 
completely  deceived,  and  thereby  induced  to  send  two-thirds 
of  his  entire  army  to  resist  a  feint,  while  Grant  had  calcu 
lated  to  hurl  his  entire  force  upon  the  weakened  lines  in 
his  front,  but  he  was  destined  to  chew  the  bitter  cud  of  dis 
appointment.  His  well-laid  schemes  were  entirely  thwarted 
by  the  faulty  execution  of  details  which  he  could  not  possibly 
supervise,  and  yet  Grant  has  been  unjustly  blamed*  for  not 
having  properly  regulated  these  subordinate  but  essential 
matters  in  person.  The  simple  truth  in  regard  to  the  affair 
of  the  mine  is,  that  the  assault  was  not  made  in  time ;  the 
troops  were  not  ready  for  it  when  the  explosion  took  place, 
and  no  adequate  means  of  debouchment  from  the  works  had 
been  prepared.  These  were  details  clearly  under  the  control 
of  Meade  and  Burnside,  and  their  engineer  officers,  for  the 
regulation  of  which  no  specific  orders  under  any  circum 
stances  should  have  been  required  from  the  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral.  That  they  were  neglected  was  probably  due  to  a 
general  lack  of  confidence  that  the  mine  would  accomplish 
any  useful  purpose.  It  was  simply  another  case  of  failure 
to  prepare  for  the  contingency  of  success.  The  rebels  were 
considerably  elated  by  what  happened,  and  our  own  troops 
somewhat  disheartened,  but  Grant's  confidence,  in  the  ultimate 
success  of  our  arms  remained  unshaken.  The  disaster  may 
have  taught  him  not  to  depend  too  much  upon  others,  but  it 
*  See  Swinton's  "  Arifiy  of  the  Potomac." 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  253 

also  induced  him  to  hasten  his  preparations  for  cutting  loose 
from  his  base  at  City  Point,  and  throwing  his  army  boldly 
into  the  interior  beyond  Petersburg  with  the  view  of  seizing 
firmly  upon  Lee's  communications,  and  thus  compelling  him 
to  come  out  and  give  battle.  This  plan  had  been  conceived 
immediately  after  the  failure  of  the  first  decided  attempts  to 
take  Petersburg,  but  it  had  been  deferred  or  modified  from 
time  to  time  by  the  adoption  of  less  radical  measures  which 
it  was  hoped  might  succeed,  and  was  still  farther  delayed  by 
operations  elsewhere  on  the  part  of  the  rebels.  But  the  idea 
had  taken  firm  hold  upon  the  mind  of  the  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral,  and  was  destined  only  a  few  months  later  to  find  its 
embodiment  in  the  final  campaign  and  the  closing  events  of 
the  war. 

In  the  meantime  Lee  availed  himself  of  the  dead  lock  in 
operations  which  followed  close  upon  the  mine  explosion,  and 
the  eccentric  retreat  of  Hunter  from  Lynchburg,  to  make  a 
diversion  in  favor  of  his  own  beleaguered  forces,  by  sending  a 
strong  detachment  towards  Washington.  He  hoped  to  con 
duct  this  demonstration  with  so  much  secresy  as  to  capture 
the  national  capital,  before  assistance  could  be  sent  to  it,  or  at 
least  that  Grant  would  be  compelled  to  part  with  so  much  of 
the  armies  about  Petersburg,  as  to  throw  them  completely 
upon  the  defensive.  Lee  looked  also  to  the  occupancy  of  the 
Shenandoah  Valley  as  a  necessary  part  of  his  plan,  on  ac 
count  of  his  uncertain  tenure  over  the  railroads  leading  south 
ward  by  which  most  of  his  supplies  were  obtained.  Should 
they  be  seized  it  would  become  a  matter  of  prime  importance 
that  he  should  keep  his  troops  scattered  as  much  as  possible, 
consistent  with  safety  so  as  to  facilitate  their  subsistence,  and 
at  the  same  time  enable  him  to  draw  upon  the  country  occu 
pied  by  them,  for  the  support  of  the  army  retained  for  the 
defense  of  Richmond.  The  Shenandoah  Valley  noted  for  its 
abundant  crops  of  grain,  became  towards  harvest  time,  an 
object  of  great  attraction  to  the  rebels. 

In  marching  northward,  Early  pursued  the  beaten  track, 
down  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  striking  the  Baltimore 


254  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

and  Ohio  Eailroad,  on  the  3d  of  July,  just  above  Harper's 
Ferry.  Sigel,  with  a  small  force,  holding  Martinsburg,  was 
compelled  to  fall  back  towards  Sharpsburg,  and  finally  after 
several  smart  combats,  to  concentrate  his  entire  command  on 
Maryland  Heights. 

As  soon  as  Grant  discovered  this  hostile  movement  towards 
the  frontier  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  he  ordered  Hun 
ter,  who  had  reached  the  Kanawha  River,  to  move  his  troops 
by  water  to  Wheeling,  and  thence  by  rail,  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible  towards  Harper's  Ferry.  But  owing  to  extreme  low 
water,  and  to  the  interruption  of  railway  travel,  Hunter  was 
delayed  much  longer  than  expected.  The  Government  be 
coming  somewhat  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  Washington, 
called  upon  Grant  to  protect  it,  and  for  this  purpose  the  Sixth 
corps  was  withdrawn  from  the  investment  of  Petersburg,  two 
divisions  of  which,  under  Wright  in  person,  were  sent  for 
ward  by  means  of  steam  transports  to  Washington,  and  the 
third  under  Ricketts  to  Baltimore.  The  Nineteenth  corps, 
which  Grant  had  withdrawn  from  the  Gulf  Department,  im 
mediately  after  the  failure  of  the  Red  River  expedition,  had 
now  begun  to  arrive  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  was  also  sent 
forward. 

The  garrisons  at  Washington  and  Baltimore  were  composed 
of  heavy  artillery  regiments,  veteran  reserves,  and  emergency 
men  called  out  for  a  hundred  days.  Halleck  as  Chief-of-Staff 
and  the  senior  General  in  the  Department  of  Washington, 
held  supreme  control,  subject  only  to  Grant  and  the  Presi 
dent  ;  Augur  commanded  the  troops  in  the  Department  of 
Washington  ;  Hunter  those  in  West  Virginia ;  Wallace  those 
at  Baltimore,  and  Sigel  those  near  Harper's  Ferry ;  but  as  these 
forces  were  widely  scattered  and  neither  of  them  sufficiently 
strong  to  contend  successfully  with  Early,  now  marching 
rapidly  wherever  he  chose,  the  situation  was  one  of  imminent 
danger.  On  the  6th  of  July,  Early  having  crossed  the  Po 
tomac  without  opposition,  entered  Hagerstown,  but  instead 
of  pushing  boldly  upon  Washington,  he  spent  several  days  in 
minor  expeditions.  However,  by  the  8th,  he  had  concentra- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRAST.  255 

ted  and  moved  forward  to  Frederick.  By  this  time,  Wallace 
with  his  heterogeneous  command,  including  the  troops  under 
Sigel,  had  been  re-enforced  by  the  arrival  of  Ilicketts,  and 
had  taken  up  a  strong  position  south  of  the  Monocacy,  four 
miles  from  Frederick  City,  where  he  prepared  to  dispute  the 
further  advance  of  the  rebel  troops  towards  Baltimore.  His 
force  was  not  great  enough  to  contend  successfully  with 
Early's  well  organized  army,  and  after  a  determined  battle  of 
several  hours,  in  which  he  inflicted  a  loss  of  nearly  six  hun 
dred  men  upon  the  enemy,  Wallace  was  compelled  to  abandon 
the  field  and  fall  back  upon  Baltimore. 

The  road  was  now  open,  and  Early  sending  his  cavalry  to 
destroy  the  Northern  Central,  and  to  burn  the  viaduct  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Road,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing, 
pushed  forward  rapidly  towards  Washington ;  but  his  forced 
delay  at  the  Monocacy,  had  given  time  for  the  arrival  of 
Wright  with  two  divisions  of  the  Sixth  and  the  advance  of  the 
Nineteenth  corps.  Early's  advanced  troops  drew  up  in  front 
of  the  fortifications,  covering  the  capital,  on  the  morning  of 
the  llth,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  his  entire  force 
was  in  position  for  an  attack,  but  did  not  venture  upon  it. 
On  the  12th,  a  reconnoissance  was  made  by  a  brigade  of  the 
Sixth  corps,  holding  the  lines  about  Fort  Stevens,  during 
which  they  fell  upon  the  enemy  and  drove  him  nearly  a  mile 
losing  260  killed  and  wounded,  but  inflicting  a  heavier  loss 
upon  the  insurgents.  Finding  that  he  was  anticipated  and 
foiled  by  the  arrival  of  the  Sixth  corps,  from  the  James,  Early 
retired  under  cover  of  darkness,  and  retreated  to  the  west  side 
of  the  Potomac,  crossing  at  Edward's  Ferry,  carrying  with 
him  "  much  booty  but  little  glory."  Having  been  advised  of 
this  termination  to  the  invasion  of  Maryland,  Grant  assigned 
Wright  to  the  command  of  all  the  troops  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Washington,  and  "  directed  that  he  should  get  outside  of 
the  trenches  with  all  the  force  he  could,  and  push  Early  to  the 
last  moment."  The  next  day  Wright  began  the  pursuit,  but 
did  not  overtake  the  rebels  till  they  reached  Snicker's  Ferry 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Here  a  sharp  skirmish  ensued ; 


256  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRAXT. 

but  instead  of  waiting  to  deliver  battle,  Early  pushed  rapidly 
up  the  valley.  On  the  18th,  Averill  with  a  division  of  cav 
alry  fell  upon  and  defeated  a  rebel  detachment  at  Winches 
ter,  capturing  four  pieces  of  artillery  and  several  hundred 
prisoners. 

Anticipating  that  Early  would  retreat  to  Lynchburg  or 
Richmond,  Grant  ordered  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  corps 
back  to  Washington  with  the  view  of  re-enforcing  the  armies 
on  the  James,  and  using  them  against  Lee  before  that  Gen 
eral's  own  troops  could  rejoin  him.  Hunter,  who  had  reached 
the  valley,  was  ordered  to  concentrate  his  forces,  holding  a 
defensive  attitude  between  Washington  and  any  new  force 
which  miorht  be  sent  in  that  direction.  But  before  this  new 

e 

combination  could  be  carried  into  effect,  it  became  known 
that  Early  was  again  advancing  towards  the  Potomac  with 
hostile  intentions,  whereupon  Wright's  command  was  ordered 
back  to  the  vicinity  of  Harper's  Ferry.  On  the  30th,  a  small 
force  of  rebel  cavalry,  under  McCausland,  marching  by  the 
way  of  Williamsport,  dashed  into  Chambersburg,  in  lower 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  laying  it  under  tribute,  burned  the 
place ;  they  then  retreated  by  the  way  of  Cumberland,  near 
which  place  they  were  met  and  defeated  by  General  Kelly. 

From  the  time  of  Early's  first  demonstration  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Washington,  General  Grant  experienced  great  diffi 
culty  on  account  of  the  interruption  of  telegraphic  communi 
cation  in  getting  his  instructions  correctly  and  efficiently 
carried  out.  Then,  too,  under  the  previous  regime,  the 
threatened  territory  was  divided  into  several  departments, 
and  independent  commands,  and  hence  the  disposition  of  the 
troops  was  more  or  less  faulty,  and  their  movements  were 
incoherent.  Grant,  on  the  2d  of  August,  ordered  Sheridan 
to  Washington,  and  assigned  him  to  the  general  command. 
A  few  days  thereafter,  the  Lieutenant-General  went  to  Wash 
ington  in  person,  and  thence  to  the  Monocacy  where  he  met 
Hunter,  and  after  learning  the  exact  situation  of  affairs, 
ordered  him  to  concentrate  all  his  available  force,  without 
delay,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  after  arriving  there  to  go  after 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  257 

Early,  no  matter  where  he  might  be  found.  If  the  latter  had 
crossed  the  Potomac  in  full  force,  Hunter  was  directed  to 
overtake  and  fight  him,  and  to  follow  him  if  he  should  be 
driven  south  of  the  Potomac  as  long  as  it  was  safe  to  do  so. 
In  case  it  should  be  found  that  only  a  force  of  raiders  had 
gone  north,  he  was  directed  to  send  a  detachment  after  them, 
to  drive  them  southward,  and  to  march  with  the  main  body 
of  his  troops  in  the  same  direction,  destroying  everything 
that  could  invite  the  enemy  to  return,  but  taking  for  the  use 
of  his  own  army,  all  provisions,  stock  and  forage  which  were 
necessary  for  its  support.  He  was  cautioned  to  bear  in  mind 
that  his  object  was  to  drive  the  rebels  South,  and  that  to  do 
this  he  should  keep  them  always  in  sight. 

In  pursuance  of  these  ringing  orders,  Hunter,  with  the 
alacrity  of  Blucher  in  the  campaign  of  1814,  put  the  troops 
at  once  in  motion,  but  on  arriving  at  Halltown  he  was  re 
lieved,  with  his  own  consent  by  Sheridan,  who  had  been 
stopped  at  Washington.  Grant  having  already  recommended 
it,  the  different  departments  in  that  theater  of  operations, 
were  consolidated  on  the  7th  of  August,  into  the  Middle 
Military  Division,  and  Sheridan  was  assigned  temporarily  to 
the  chief  command,  with  head-quarters  in  the  field.  Wash 
ington  and  Baltimore,  with  the  country  adjacent,  had  up  to- 
this  time  constituted  the  Department  of  Washington  ;  Cen 
tral  Pennsylvania  and  Northern  Maryland,  the  Department 
of  the  Susquehanna ;  North-western  Virginia  and  Western 
Pennsylvania,  the  Department  of  West  Virginia;  and  the 
Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  eastward  to  Bull  Kun  Mountains, 
the  Middle  Military  Department.  This  arrangement  gave 
rise  to  petty  jealousies  between  the  different  commanders,, 
and  should  have  been  abolished  long  before,  as  it  had  been 
fruitful  in  nothing  but  indecisive  combats  and  inharmonious 
combinations. 

Grant  remained  in  North  Virginia  long  enough  to  fix  his 
young  lieutenant  firmly  in  the  command  with  which  he  had 
been  charged,  and  then  returned  to  the  army  confronting 

Petersburg. 

17 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE  NEW  ARRANGEMENTS  IN  MILITARY  AFFAIRS  AT  WASHINGTON — 
SHERIDAN  PREPARES  FOR  AN  ACTIVE  CAMPAIGN  —  JOINED  BY 
TORBERT  AND  WILSON — EARLY  RE-ENFORCED — SHERIDAN  FALLS 
BACK — MERRITT  ATTACKED — REBELS  REPULSED — SHERIDAN  CON 
CENTRATED  AT  HALLTOWN — THE  AFFAIR  AT  KERNEYVILLE — GRANT 
VISITS  SHERIDAN — INSTRUCTS  HIM  TO  GO  IN — THE  BATTLE  AT 

WINCHESTER — THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  FISHER'S  HILL — EARLY  KE- 
TREATS — SHERIDAN  FALLS  BACK  TO  THE  LOWER  VALLEY — WILSON 
ORDERED  WEST — THE  REBELS  ROUTED  AT  TOM'S  CREEK — SHERI- 
DAN'S  ARMY  AT  CEDAR  CREEK — HE  IS  CALLED  TO  WASHING 
TON — EARLY  ATTACKS  THE  UNION  TROOPS — HIS  SUCCESS— A  CRIT 
ICAL  MOMENT — SHERIDAN  REJOINS  HIS  ARMY — HE  ORDERS  AN 
ADVANCE — DETERMINED  FIGHTING — REBELS  DEFEATED — THE  END 
OF  EARLY'S  CAMPAIGN — OBSERVATIONS. 

THE  new  arrangement  of  military  affairs  about  Washing 
ton,  by  which  Halleck  and  the  various  department  commanders 
were  shorn  of  power,  and  the  control  of  operations  in  that 
quarter  was  confided  to  a  thoroughly  vital  and  aggressive 
General,  was  an  exceedingly  fortunate  and  judicious  measure 
on  the  part  of  General  Grant.  •  The  safety  of  Washington 
and  the  control  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley  had  hitherto  caused 
him  great  concern,  but  he  could  now  give  general  instructions 
and  leave  his  lieutenant  to  work  out  the  details  according  to 
his  own  ideas.  The  latter  guided  by  the  orders  that  had  been 
given  to  Hunter,  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  policy  that  he 
was  expected  to  pursue.  As  a  preliminary  precaution,  he 
was  permitted  to  gather  his  troops  together  to  look  to  their 
equipment,  and  by  a  thorough  reorganization  to  prepare 
them  for  an  active  campaign.  When  Sheridan  assumed  com- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  259 

mand  of  the  Middle  Military  Division,  he  found  there  the 
Sixth  corps,  two  small  divisions  under  Crook,  one  division  of 
the  Nineteenth  corps,  and  a  small  division  of  cavalry  under 
Averill.  He  was  shortly  afterwards  joined  by  Torbert's 
division  of  cavalry  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  still 
later  by  Wilson's  division.  On  the  10th  of  August  he  be 
gan  a  forward  movement  from  Halltown  towards  Berryville, 
thus  throwing  himself  behind  the  right  flank  of  the  rebel 
army  stationed  at  Bunker  Hill.  Having  made  this  march,  his 
cavalry  and  infantry  were  then  headed  towards  the  Opequan, 
demonstrating  towards  Winchester.  This  caused  Early  to 
fall  back  rapidly  beyond  Cedar  Creek  to  which  place  he  was 
pursued  by  Sheridan.  At  this  juncture  the  latter  received 
information,  from  his  scouts,  which  was  soon  confirmed  by 
a  despatch  from  Grant,  that  Lee  had  sent  two  divisions 
of  infantry,  twenty  guns  and  a  detachment  of  cavalry  to 
strengthen  Early,  and  that  this  force  was  moving  by  the 
way  of  Culpepper  and  Front  Royal.  Fearing  that  he  could 
not  cope  successfully  with  so  large  a  body,  and  knowing  that 
defeat  would  lay  open  to  invasion  both  Maryland  and  Penn 
sylvania,  Sheridan  wisely  determined  to  fall  back  to  Hall- 
town,  and  wait  for  a  better  opportunity  to  strike  a  decisive 
blow. 

This  policy  was  sanctioned  by  the  judgment  of  the  Lieu 
tenant-General,  and  was  immediately  but  deliberately  carried 
into  effect.  On  the  16th,  Merritt's  division,  near  Front  Royal, 
was  attacked  by  Kershaw's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps, 
supported  by  two  brigades  of  cavalry,  but  after  a  gallant 
fight  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  enemy,  capturing  2  standards 
and  300  prisoners.  The  next  day  the  retrograde  movement 
began  ;  a  part  of  the  infantry  retiring  by  way  of  Berryville, 
and  the  rest  followed  by  Wilson's  division  which  had  just 
arrived  from  Washington,  by  Winchester  and  Summit  Point, 
at  both  of  which  places  there  were  sharp  skirmishes  with  the 
advancing  rebels.  On  the  23d,  Sheridan  had  concentrated 
his  entire  command,  now  also  increased  by  the  arrival  of 
Grover's  division  of  the  Nineteenth  corps,  at  Halltown,  and 


2GO  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

from  his  securely  entrenched  position  began  a  series  of  well 
arranged  reconnoissances  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  himself 
in  regard  to  Early's  real  force  and  intention.  On  the  25th, 
he  sent  Torbert  with  Merritt  and  Wilson  to  fall  upon  Fitzhugh 
Lee's  cavalry  supposed  to  be  encamped  beyond  Kerney ville ; 
but  instead  of  Lee  they  encountered  the  rebel  infantry  under 
Breckinridge,  on  the  inarch  towards  Shepherdstown.  A  de* 
termined  attack  was  made,  which  resulted  in  throwing  the 
rebels  into  considerable  confusion,  and  before  they  recovered 
from  it  Torbert  returned  rapidly  to  the  place  from  which  he 
had  started.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Early  had  begun  this 
movement  with  the  intention  of  again  crossing  the  Potomac, 
but  believing  from  Sheridan's  activity  that  his  object  had  been 
discovered,  he  returned  to  his  position  in  front  of  Halltown. 
The  next  day  he  fell  back  beyond  the  Opequan,  and  was 
again  followed  by  Sheridan.  Shortly  afterwards  Early  was 
directed  to  send  a  part  of  his  force  back  to  Eichmond.  Hear 
ing  of  this,  and  being  convinced  that  the  time  for  Sheridan  to 
strike  had  now  come,  but  fearing  to  telegraph  the  order  for 
an  attack  without  knowing  fully  the  situation  as  viewed  by 
Sheridan,  Grant  hastened  from  City  Point  to  Washington, 
and  thence  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  16th  of  September.  After  conferring  fully  with  Sheri 
dan,  who  expressed  great  confidence  in  his  ability  to  over 
throw  Early,  Grant  instructed  him,  as  his  official  report 
expressed  it,  to  "  Go  in !  " 

Sheridan's  forces  were  well  in  hand,  Wilson  on  the  left, 
near  Berryville,  Torbert  on  the  right,  near  Summit  Point,  with 
the  infantry  well  disposed  between  the  two.  The  movement 
began  at  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  September  19th. 
Wilson,  with  Macintosh's  brigade  in  front,  marching  rapidly 
to  the  Opequan  along  the  Berryville  Turnpike,  drove  back 
the  rebel  picket,  forced  a  crossing,  and  dashed  through  the 
heavily  wooded  ravine,  up  which  the  road  winds,  striking  the 
right  of  Ramseur's  division  about  two  miles  in  front  of  Win 
chester,  before  dawn.  A  sharp  and  decisive  combat  ensued, 
in  which  the  rebels  were  driven  pell-mell  from  their  works ; 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  201 

but  they  returned  to  the  attack  at  once,  and  were  again  re 
pulsed.  The  ground  thus  gained  was  held  till  after  eight 
o'clock,  at  which  time  Upton's  brigade  of  the  Sixth  corps 
arrived.  By  nine  o'clock  most  of  the  army  was  in  position 
ready  to  move  forward.  Torbert,  who  was  directed  to  ad 
vance  with  Merritt's  division  from  Summit  Point,  for  the 
purpose  of  forcing  the  Opequan,  opposite  that  place,  and 
forming  a  junction  with  Averill  at  or  near  Stevenson's  depot, 
met  with  considerable  opposition,  and  was  delayed  some  hours 
in  getting  to  the  field.  The  attack  was  made  by  the  Sixth 
and  Nineteenth  corps  in  handsome  style,  while  Crook's  com 
mand  was  held  in  reserve  to  be  used  as  a  turning  column, 
Early  had  made  hot  haste  from  the  time  the  first  shot  was 
fired  before  dawn,  to  concentrate  his  army  which  he  had 
spread  out  considerably  for  the  purpose  of  watching  Sher 
idan,  and  was  soon  occupying  a  strong  position  on  the  ridge 
east  of  Winchester.  The  fighting  was  bloody  and  obstinate 
from  the  start,  and  neither  army  being  covered  by  earthworks, 
the  mortality  was  great.  After  a  successful  advance,  while 
our  lines  were  somewhat  disordered,  Early  in  turn  attacked 
and  drove  Sheridan's  center  back  ;  but  his  success  was  only 
momentary  ;  at  this  critical  juncture,  Sheridan  threw  forward 
Uj^on's  brigade  of  Russell's  division,  catching  Early's  attack 
ing  force  in  the  flank  and  driving  it  rapidly  from  the  field. 
The  gallant  Russell  was  slain,  while  Upton  was  severely 
wounded.  Crook,  who  was  still  in  reserve,  was  now  thrown  to 
the  extreme  right  (instead  of  to  the  left  as  was  intended),  with 
orders  to  find  the  left  of  the  enemy's  line  and  crush  it.  Aided 
by  Torbert,  with  Merritt's  and  Averill's  horse,  this  movement 
became  perfectly  successful,  cavalry  and  infantry  vicing  with 
each  other  in  deeds  of  gallantry.  Early's  line  was  crowded 
back  on  both  flanks,  broken  in  the  center  and  routed  every 
where  ;  his  men  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  fly  southward  under 
cover  of  darkness.  Night  alone  saved  the  rebel  army  from 
complete  destruction. 

The  next  day  Sheridan  pushed  forward  in  pursuit,  finding 
the  enemy  at  night  drawn  up  in  line  and  partly  entrenched  at 


262  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Fisher's  Hill.  He  again  determined  to  send  Crook  to  turn  the 
enemy's  left  and  fall  upon  his  rear,  but  in  order  to  accomplish 
this,  great  secresy  was  necessary ;  the  rebels  had  signal  sta 
tions  on  the  top  of  a  neighboring  mountain  from  which  all 
our  movements  could  be  observed.  Crook  was  therefore  con 
cealed  in  the  heavy  timber  near  Strasburg,  north  of  Cedar 
Creek,  where  he  remained  during  the  21st.  Before  dawn 
the  next  day,  he  marched  to  the  position  assigned  him,  on 
Little  North  Mountain  to  the  left  and  rear  of  Early's  line. 
The  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  corps  were  massed  opposite  Early's 
right  center,  and  Kicketts'  division  of  the  Sixth  corps  with 
Averill's  cavalry  was  then  ordered  to  make  a  demonstration 
along  the  hostile  front,  which  they  did  in  handsome  style,  at 
tracting  the  enemy's  attention  completely.  The  firing  had 
become  pretty  general,  when  all  at  once,  Crook  burst  from  the 
woods  on  the  hill-side,  striking  the  astonished  rebels  in  flank 
and  rear,  and  in  a  few  moments  swept  away  their  whole 
line,  taking  many  prisoners  and  guns,  and  throwing  them  into 
inextricable  confusion. 

Unfortunately,  Torbert,  with  the  bulk  of  the  cavalry,  had 
been  sent,  with  orders  to  proceed  rapidly  up  the  Luray  Val 
ley  and  to  cross  the  mountains  for  the  purpose  of  falling  upon 
Early's  rear;  but  the  road  by  which  he  marched,  running  for 
several  miles  along  a  narrow  defile  was  easily  blockaded,  by 
the  small  force  of  rebels  which  had  fallen  back  before  him. 
Everything  practicable  was  done  to  get  forward,  but  the  prog 
ress  made  was  slow.  Early,  in  the  meanwhile,  continued  his 
retreat  through  New  Market,  Harrisonburg,  Port  Republic, 
and  thence  +o  Brown's  Gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  closely  pur 
sued  by  the  cavalry.  Many  skirmishes  ensued,  and  a  large 
number  of  prisoners  were  taken,  but  the  enemy  could  not  be 
again*  brought  to  a  stand.  Having  cleared  the  upper  valley 
entirely  of  the  insurgent  force,  Sheridan  withdrew  his  victo 
rious  troops,  slowly  to  Harrisonburg,  destroying  the  forage, 
grain  mills,  and  such  other  property  as  might  be  serviceable 
to  the  rebel  army. 

"  The  question  that  now  presented  itself,"  says  Sheridan  in 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  263 

his  official  report,  "was  whether  or  not  I  should  follow  the 
enemy  to  Brown's  Gap,  where  he  still  held  fast,  drive  him 
out,  and  advance  on  Charlottesville  and  Gordonsville.  This 
movement  on  Gordonsville  I  was  opposed  to  for  many  reasons, 
the  most  important  of  which  was,  that  it  would  necessitate 
the  opening  of  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  and  to 
protect  this  road  against  the  numerous  guerrilla  bands,  would 
have  required  a  corps  of  infantry;  besides  I  would  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  a  small  force  in  the  valley  to  give  security  to 
the  line  of  the  Potomac.  This  would  probably  occupy  the 
whole  of  Crook's  command,  leaving  me  but  a  small  number 
of  fighting  men."  For  these  and  other  cogent  reasons,  he 
thought  it  best  to  continue  his  retrograde  movement  to  the 
lower  valley  and  then  to  send  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  corps 
back  to  Petersburg  by  the  way  they  had  been  brought  from 
there.  He  was  followed  close  by  the  rebel  cavalry  under 
Rosser,  who  attacked  the  Third  cavalry  division  now  under 
Custer,  Wilson  having  been  ordered  West  to  reorganize  and 
command  Sherman's  cavalry.  Sheridan  could  not  brook 
such  insolence,  but  halted  his  army  and  sent  Torbert  with 
Merritt  and  Custer,  to  check  Rosser's  career.  The  two  col 
umns  met  at  Tom's  Creek  and  after  a  short  but  decisive  en 
gagement,  the  enemy  was  routed,  leaving  eleven  guns,  about 
four  hundred  prisoners  and  all  his  vehicles  in  the  hands  of 
the  victors,  who  pursued  him  as  far  as  Mount  Jackson,  some 
twenty-six  miles.  Recalling  his  cavalry,  Sheridan  halted  his 
army  at  Cedar  Creek,  and  on  the  10th  of  October  was  called 
to  Washington  to  confer  with  the  Government  in  regard  to 

O  c5 

further  operations.  In  the  interim  the  enemy  advanced  again 
to  Fisher's  Hill,  though  he  manifested  no  other  evidence  of 
hostile  intention.  But  Early  had  been  re-enforced,  and  during 
the  absence  of  Sheridan,  on  the  night  of  the  18th,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  19th,  he  moved  silently  through  Strasburg, 
sent  a  strong  turning  column  across  the  Shenandoah,  and 
after  marching  below  the  left  flank  of  the  Union  army,  re- 
crossed  the  river  at  Boman's  Ford,  under  cover  of  a  heavy  fog, 
striking  the  left  of  Crook's  line,  driving  in  his  outposts,  captur- 


264  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

ing  his  camps,  and  completely  turning  his  position.  This  was 
followed  by  a  vigorous  direct  attack  upon  the  Union  front,  and 
before  the  true  situation  of  affairs  was  fairly  realized,  the 
whole  army  was  driven  back  in  confusion  nearly  to  Middletown, 
with  the  loss  of  many  prisoners,  and  nearly  all  the  artillery. 

Fortunately,  however,  the  rebels  did  not  realize  the  extent 
of  their  success,  or  being  overjoyed  at  it,  they  stopped  to 
count  the  booty  found  in  the  camps  which  they  had  captured, 
thus  giving  General  Wright  time  to  partially  reorganize  his 
forces.  Sheridan,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  arrived  at  Win 
chester,  on  his  way  to  rejoin  his  army,  and  hearing  the  sound 
of  artillery  in  the  distance,  hastened  forward,  though  still  not 
thinking  a  battle  was  in  progress.  He  had  not  ridden  far, 
however,  when  he  met  a  sickening  cloud  of  fugitives,  who  had 
determined  to  save  themselves  if  running  could  do  it.  Put 
ting  spurs  to  his  horse  he  galloped  to  the  front  and  soon 
reached  the  field  upon  which  the  army  had  been  halted. 
Hastily  pushing  the  rear  division  to  the  line  held  by  Getty 
and  Torbert,  and  sending  hie  staff  officers  to  the  rear  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  every  available  man  to  the  front,  he  soon 
had  most  of  the  army  well  in  hand.  Those  first  on  the 
ground  were  set  to  work  entrenching.  Merritt's  cavalry  was 
formed  on  the  left,  Ouster's  on  the  right,  while  Powell's  (for 
merly  Averill's)  held  a  position  on  the  Front  Royal  pike. 
Everything  possible  was  done  to  restore  confidence,  and  to 
prepare  the  army  for  assuming  the  offensive.  This  was  de 
layed  by  the  report  that  the  rebel  infantry  had  made  its  ap 
pearance  in  Powell's  front  and  was  threatening  a  movement 
towards  Winchester.  Having  satisfied  himself  that  this  was 
not  the  case,  Sheridan  at  four  P.  M.,  ordered  the  army  to  ad 
vance,  which  it  did  with  its  accustomed  steadiness  and  confi 
dence,  driving  the  rebels  from  behind  fences,  breastworks  and 
hedges,  steadily  back  upon  Cedar  Creek.  The  fighting  was 
1  very  determined,  and  at  one  time,  Sheridan's  lines  being  over 
lapped  by  the  rebel  left,  a  portion  of  the  Nineteenth  corps 
was  thrown  into  momentary  confusion.  At  this  juncture  of 
affairs,  Sheridan  dashed  to  the  head  of  McMillan's  brigade, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  265 

and  led  them  vigorously  against  the  re-entrant  in  his  front, 
penetrating  the  angle  fearlessly  and  breaking  the  rebel  line. 

Custer  just  then  charged  with  his  division,  and  with  a  sim 
ultaneous  and  impetuous  dash  by  the  entire  army,  the  rebels 
were  routed  and  driven  in  confusion  beyond  Cedar  Creek, 
leaving  their  artillery,  (including  the  captured  guns)  caissons, 
wagons  and  ambulances,  besides  many  prisoners,  to  grace  the 
victory  of  the  impetuous  Sheridan. 

This  battle  practically  put  an  end  to  the  campaign  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia,  for  although  Early  still  continued  to  lurk 
about  in  the  neighboring  mountains,  occasionally  descending 
fearfully  into  the  valley,  he  was  never  again  entrusted  with  a 
command  large  enough  to  give  serious  concern,  or  to  prevent 
the  various  detachments  of  Sheridan's  army  from  marching 
whithersoever  they  chose  in  the  country  north  of  Richmond. 
During  the  winter,  Sheridan  disposed  of  his  cavalry  so  as  to 
drive  out  the  guerrillas  and  to  reduce  the  territory  under  his 
control,  to  comparative  quiet,  while  the  Sixth  corps  being  no 
longer  needed,  was  returned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to 
join  in  the  operations  against  Petersburg.  One  division  of 
the  Nineteenth  corps  was  sent  to  the  Army  of  the  James,  and 
the  other  to  Savannah  to  join  Sherman. 

During  his  brilliant  campaign,  Sheridan's  force  never  ex 
ceeded  30,000  effective  men,  and  never  included  any  other 
troops  than  those  mentioned  above ;  while  Early's  force  was 
probably  quite  as  large,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  to  the 
contrary,  industriously  put  forth  by  that  officer  and  his  allies. 
Sheridan  took  fully  13,000  prisoners  as  shown  by  the  records 
of  his  Provost  Marshal,  in  the  various  battles  and  skirmishes, 
and  during  this  time  suffered  the  loss  of  1,938  killed,  11,893 
wounded,*,  and  3,121  missing ;  a  grand  total  of  16,952.  It 
is  fair  to  assume  that  Early's  killed  and  wounded  must  have 
been  fully  as  heavy,  or  in  round  numbers  13,800  men,  which, 
added  to  the  captured,  gives  nearly  27,000  men,  killed, 
wounded,  and  taken  prisoners.  Besides  this,  Sheridan  took 
from  them,  100  pieces  of  artillery,  5,000  stands  of  small 
arms,  and  much  valuable  property. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

GRANT'S  EFFORTS  TO  SECURE  HARMONIOUS  ACTION — CANBY'S  COM 
MAND — RESULTS  OF  CONSOLIDATION — THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  GRANT'S 
COMMAND — HI3  VIEWS  IN  REGARD  TO  OPERATIONS  WEST  OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI  RIVER — HIS  INTERVIEW  WITH  SHERMAN — SHERMAN 

PREPARES  FOR  ACTIVE  OPERATIONS — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUN 
TRY  BETWEEN  CHATTANOOGA  AND  ATLANTA — THE  POSITION  OF 
THE  ENEMY  AT  ROCKY  FACE — THOMAS  OCCUPIES  TUNNEL  HILL — 
MAKES  A  LODGMENT  ON  ROCKY  FACE  RIDGE — THE  FAILURE  OF 
M'PHERSON'S  MOVEMENT  AGAINST  RESACA — JOHNSTON  EVACUATES 

BUZZARD  ROOST — THE  UNION  ARMY  ASSEMBLES  AT  SNAKE  CREEK 
GAP — SHERMAN  ENVELOPES  THE  REBEL  WORKS  AT  RESACA — BAT 
TLE  OF  RESACA — JOHNSTON  FALLS  BACK  TO  ADAIRSVILLE — CAP 
TURE  OF  ROME — SKIRMISH  AT  ADAIRSVILLE — JOHNSTON  TAKES 
POSITION  AT  CASSVILLE — AGAIN  FALLS  BACK — SHERMAN  CUTS 

LOOSE    FROM     THE    RAILROAD — BATTLE    AT    NEW    HOPE    CHURCH 

CAPTURE  OF  ALLATOONA — ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  SECONDARY  BASE 
OF  SUPPLIES — SHERMAN  RE-ENFORCED  BY  BLAIR — JOHNSTON  FOR 
TIFIES  AT  LOST  AND  KENESAW  MOUNTAINS — GENERAL  POLK  KILLED 
— STURGIS'  DEFEAT  IN  NORTHERN  MISSISSIPPI — BATTLE  AT  KENE 
SAW  MOUNTAIN — JOHNSTON  FALLS  BACK  TO  SMYRNA  CAMP-MEET 
ING  GROUND — THOMAS  IN  PURSUIT — JOHNSTON  TAKES  POSITION  AT 
PEACH-TREE  CREEK — ROUSSEAU  INTERRUPTS  JOHNSTON'S  COMMU 
NICATIONS — SHERMAN  AGAIN  ON  THE  OFFENSIVE — JOHNSTON  RE 
LIEVED  BY  HOOD — JOHNSTON'S  ABILITIES. 

IN  accepting  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  and  with  it 
the  immediate  direction  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  Grant 
did  not  in  any  way  neglect  the  more  important  and  compre 
hensive  duties  of  his  new  office.  His  first  care  was  to  secure 
for  the  command  of  the  various  armies,  military  departments 
and  divisions,.  Generals  who  would  work  harmoniously  and 
in  support  of  himself  and  each  other  ;  and  his  next,  to  devise 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  207 

such  ti  general  plan  of  operations  as  would  compel  them  all 
to  do  some  specific  good  towards  accomplishing  the  general 
result  to  be  obtained.  The  war  had  hitherto  been  conducted 
upon  no  well  established  or  proper  principle.  Each  General 
had  been  assigned  to  an  extended  bailiwick,  with  an  uncertain 
number  of  soldiers,  and  although  he  had  been  left  with  few 
or  no  instructions,  much  had  been  expected  of  him.  When 
Grant  assumed  command  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States, 
the  loyal  troops  occupying  the  insurgent  territory,  were  di 
vided  into  twelve  distinct  department  commands,  with  many 
minor  districts,  more  or  less  independent  of  each  other, — the 
troops  in  which  were  acting  under  no  general  system  pointing 
to  the  accomplishment  of  well-defined  military  results.  The 
different  commanders  knew  that  the  rebellion  must  be  put 
down,  and  that  the  Government  would  reward  successful 
military  operations ;  but  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
President  upon  more  than  one  occasion  had  issued  his  orders 
directing  a  simultaneous  movement  upon  the  enemy  by  all  the 
armies,  the  military  organization  was  too  cumbrous  to  admit 
of  effective  working.  The  team  was  not  only  balky,  but 
badly  hitched,  and  hence  one  or  two  of  the  best  horses  were 
doing  all  the  work.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Grant  rec 
ommended  the  consolidation  of  departments  and  armies  before 
the  beginning  of  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  and  that  nine 
months  thereafter,  the  Military  Division  of  the  ^Mississippi 
was  established.  On  his  accession  to  the  command  of  all 
the  armies,  he  designated  Sherman  to  succeed  him  in  the 
command  of  that  military  division,  adding  to  it  the  Depart 
ment  of  Arkansas.  It  has  been  seen  how  he  consolidated 
four  departments  in  the  Virginia  region  into  the  Middle  Mili 
tary  Division,  and  placed  it  under  Sheridan.  As  Sherman 
collected  his  forces  and  began  to  operate  south-eastward  from 
Chattanooga,  a  new  consolidation  of  departments  took  place  on 
the  lower  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf  coast  under  the  title  of  the 
Military  Division  of  West  Mississippi,  with  General  Canby 
in  command.  By  these  means  widely  separated  regions  and 
armies  were  brought  into  the  general  plan  ;  great  power  was 


268  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

committed  to  the  hands  of  able  and  judicious  commanders, 
acting  under  the  instructions  of  a  clear-headed  and  far-seeing 
generalissimo  and  decided  and  concentrated  action  followed 
throughout  the  seat  of  war,  bringing  down  by  the  terrible 
onset  of  700,000  patriots,  in  a  few  months,  the  well-founded 
and  closely  compacted  fabric  of  the  slave-holders'  rebellion. 

The  generalship  displayed  in  this  wonderful  concentration 
of  effort  and  in  the  unerring  direction  given  to  the  national 
armed  forces  towards  the  vital  points  of  the  hostile  territory, 
show  strategic  skill  seldom  surpassed,  coupled  with  a  depth 
and  breadth  of  comprehension  sustained  by  a  high  moral 
courage  capable  of  the  greatest  resolutions.  In  bringing  the 
Government  to  the  adoption  of  such  radical  measures,  Grant 
displayed  all  the  tact  and  sagacity  of  the  profoundest  states 
manship,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  in  the  history  of  the  world  so 
much  power  was  ever  entrusted  by  a  civilized  state  to  the 
hands  of  a  citizen,  with  less'  hesitation  or  doubt,  while  it 
is  certain  that  such  power  was  never  so  virtuously  and  un 
selfishly  wielded.  Grant,  standing  at  the  head  of  nearly  a 
million  of  armed  men,  held  the  unlimited  sway  of  a  dictator, 
and  yet  he  never  for  an  instant  forgot  that  he  was  as  far  be 
low  the  law  of  the  land  as  the  most  obscure  private  in  the 
ranks.  If  the  Government  ever  entertained  a  doubt  of  his 
fidelity,  or  a  shadow  of  jealousy  at  his  success  it  is  not 
known ;  <md  this  is  a  circumstance  as  creditable  to  the  Gen 
eral  as  it  is  to  the  President  and  his  Cabinet. 

It  is  not  within  the  limits  of  this  work  to  give  the  details 
of  the  correspondence  and  orders  by  which  Grant  carried  his 
plans  into  effect,  nor  even  of  the  operations  which  resulted 
therefrom,  but  enough  of  both  will  be  mentioned  to  show 
that  the  success  of  the  national  cause  was  due  to  the  unlim 
ited  control  which  he  exercised  in  the  selection  of  subordinate 
commanders,  and  in  directing  their  movements  against  the 
armed  forces  of  the  enemy  in  accordance  with  the  true  prin 
ciples  of  warfare.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  patriotism, 
liberality,  courage  and  civic  virtue  of  the  people  were  the 
underlying  and  primary  cause  of  our  success,  but  they  were 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GBAKT.  269 

powerless  until  guided  and  controlled  by  a  leader  of  and  from 
themselves,  who  comprehended  the  magnitude  of  the  task 
assigned  him,  and  was  capable  of  proceeding  to  its  execu 
tion  fearlessly  and  confidently. 

As  soon  as  Vicksburg  had  fallen,  and  complete  control  had 
been  re-established  over  the  Mississippi  throughout  its  entire 
length,  Grant  expressed  the  opinion  that  no  offensive  military 
operations  should  be  undertaken  to  the  westward  of  that 
stream,  but  that  we  should  content  ourselves  with  holding 
the  river  and  adjacent  territory  already  conquered,  while  the 
entire  force,  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government,  should  be 
directed  to  military  operations  eastward.  He  believed  that 
that  part  of  the  rebellion,  lying  in  the  trans-Mississippi 
region,  would  die  of  its  own  accord  like  the  tail  of  a  snake, 
whose  head  and  body  had  been  severed  from  it,  and  therefore 
held  that  operations  into  that  country  were  not  only  useless, 
but  positively  injurious  to  our  cause,  inasmuch  as  they  car 
ried  our  forces  into  distant  regions,  where  they  could  neither 
be  supported  nor  rapidly  re-enforced,  and  where  even  if  suc 
cessful,  they  could  render  no  valuable  assistance  against  the 
head  and  front  of  the  rebellion.  For  these  reasons  he  op 
posed  the  Red  River  expedition  under  Banks,  and  urged  the 
Government  to  send  that  officer  against  Mobile  instead,  with 
orders  to  co-operate  with  Sherman  in  his  operations  towards 
the  interior  of  Alabama.  Not  having  been  called  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  armies  when  the  Red  River  expedition  was  or 
ganized  and  put  on  foot,  his  counsel  did  not  prevail,  and 
although  he  authorized  Sherman  to  send  10,000  of  his  best 
men,  under  General  A.  J.  Smith,  by  transports,  to  take  part 
in  it,  and  directed  him  to  order  Steele  with  the  available 
troops  in  the  Department  of  Arkansas,  to  move  overland 
towards  Shreveport,  the  objective  point  of  the  campaign,  he 
lost  no  time  after  he  became  Lieutenant-General,  in  with 
drawing  these  armies  to  the  Mississippi,  and  in  sending  all 
the  men  from  them  that  could  be  spared  to  carry  out  the 
plan,  suggested  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg.  It  is  to  be  re 
gretted  that  he  was  not  free  to  do  this  sooner,  for  he  would 


t 

270  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

not  only  have  averted  the  defeat  which  was  incurred  at 
Pleasant  Hill  and  Sabine  Cross-roads,  but  would  have  has 
tened  by  several  months  the  fall  of  Mobile,  and  probably 
that  of  the  Confederacy  itself. 

When  Grant  was  called  to  Washington,  he  telegraphed  for 
Sherman,  then  at  Memphis,  to  meet  him  at  Nashville,  and  in 
order  to  confer  more  fully  with  him  in  regard  to  the  general 
plan  of  operations,  requested  that  officer  to  accompany  him 
to  Cincinnati.  During  this  interview,  it  was  decided  that 
Sherman  should  concentrate  at  Chattanooga,  the  bulk  of  his 
widely  scattered  forces,  and  move  against  the  rebels  under 
Joseph  E.  Johnston,  then  at  Dalton,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking 
up  his  army  and  penetrating  to  Atlanta,  and  thence  operating 
towards  the  sea-coast  in  whatever  direction  might  be  found 
most  advantageous,  with  the  view  of  again  severing  the  Con 
federacy,  and  enabling  the  national  commanders  to  concen 
trate  in  overwhelming  numbers  against  the  fragments  of  the 
insurgent  forces.  As  we  have  before  stated,  the  first  idea  of 
this  campaign,  so  far  as  known,  was  developed  at  General 
Grant's  head-quarters  in  Nashville,  during  the  preceding 
January,  at  a  time  when  it  was  supposed  he  would  have 
command  in  person  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  Missis 
sippi.  It  was  now  committed  to  Sherman,  the  most  trusted 
of  his  lieutenants,  and  hence  the  details  of  the  plan  were 
left  to  the  arrangement  of  that  officer,  in  all  matters,  except 
the  time  of  starting.  The  Lieutenant-General  fixed  this  so 
as  to  make  the  movement  simultaneous  with  his  own  from  the 
Rapidan,  with  the  object  of  keeping  the  enemy  so  busily  en 
gaged  at  every  point  of  attack  along  his  extended  frontier, 
that  he  could  not  afford  to  withdraw  re-enforcements  from 
any  part,  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  heavily  against 
either  of  the  advancing  armies. 

Sherman's  command  embracing  the  great  central  belt  of 
country  lying  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  western  borders 
of  Arkansas,  and  extending  southward  and  eastward  as  far  as 
he  could  carry  his  victorious  standards,  included  nearly  the 
entire  theatre  of  war  from  Savannah  to  Vicksburg.  A  large 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  271 

force  had  already  been  concentrated  by  General  Grant  at 
Chattanooga,  but  a  greater  concentration  yet  was  to  take 
place.  It  was  wisely  judged  that  the  territory  bordering  on 
the  Mississippi  could  be  stripped  almost  entirely  of  the  force 
which  had  hitherto  been  engaged  in  holding  it  and  protecting 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  provided  an  active  campaign 
should  be  conducted  from  Chattanooga,  and  the  lower  part 
of  the  great  Tennessee  Valley.  Sherman  therefore  directed 
McPherson,  commanding  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  to  con 
centrate  all  the  available  men  of  his  army  for  active  duty  at 
Huntsville,  leaving  General  Hurlbut  with  the  remainder  of 
the  force  to  operate  against  Forrest  in  West  Tennessee  and 
Northern  Mississippi. 

General  Grant,  displeased  with  operations  in  East  Tennes 
see  during  the  winter,  had  solicited  and  obtained  the  assign 
ment  of  General  Schofield,  an  officer  of  sound  judgment,  to 
the  command  of  the  army  in  that  region.  Burnside's  corps 
was  relieved  at  the  same  time,  and  ordered  to  Annapolis. 
Sherman's  first  duty  was  to  concentrate  his  army,  and  his 
next  to  provide  for  supplying  it  with  the  means  of  subsist 
ence.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Grant  had  devoted  much 
care  and  attention  to  perfecting  the  operation  of  the  railroads 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  but  in  view  of  the  greatly  in 
creased  forces  to  be  supplied,  Sherman  had  much  to  accom 
plish  in  that  direction  before  his  army  could  take  the  field  in 
the  sterile  region  of  Northern  Georgia.  But  bending  him 
self  with  great  activity  to  the  multifarious  duties  of  his 
position,  he  soon  instilled  his  own  energy  into  the  adminis 
tration  of  every  department  connected  with  his  army.  By 
the  1st  of  May,  he  had  concentrated  a  force  of  98,787  men, 
and  254  guns,  well  supplied,  thoroughly  equipped,  well  or 
ganized  and  ably  commanded,  with  which  to  'undertake  the 
task  assigned  him.  Promptly  at  the  time  designated  by 
Grant  for  the  general  advance,  he  moved  forward,  and  on  the 
6th  of  May  his  forces  were  distributed  as  follows :  The  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  General  George  H.  Thomas  command 
ing,  consisting  of  the  Fourth,  Fourteenth,  and  Twentieth 


272  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

corps  under  Howard,  Palmer,  and  Hooker  respectively,  held 
positions  near  Ringgold  on  the  railroad.  The  Army  of  the 
Tennessee,  General  McPherson  commanding,  consisting  of 
the  Fifteenth,  and  parts  of  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth 
corps,  commanded  respectively  by  Logan,  Dodge  and  Blair, 
was  near  Gordon's  Mill  on  Chickamauga  Creek  ;  while  Scho- 
field,  with  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  consisting  of  a  part  of  the 
Twenty-third  corps,  and  a  division  of  cavalry  under  Stone- 
man,  had  moved  down  from  East  Tennessee  to  Red  Clay,  at 
or  near  the  Georgia  line,  just  north  of  Dalton.* 

General  Johnston,  with  an  army  of  between  50,000  and 
60,000  effectives,  divided  into  three  corps  under  Hardee,  Polk 
and  Hood,  with  a  division  of  Georgia  State  troops  under  G. 
W.  Smith,  and  a  corps  of  cavalry  under  Wheeler  lay  at  Dal 
ton,  holding  a  strongly  fortified  position  on  an  outlying  spur 
of  the  Alleghanies,  known  as  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  with  his 
principal  force  at  Buzzard  Roost  Gap. 

The  country  lying  between  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta  is 
broken  up  by  mountain  ridges,  alternating  with  deep  ravines 
and  rapid  streams,  and  is  more  difficult,  if  possible,  than  the 
country  between  Washington  and  Richmond.  It  is  generally 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  broken  only  at  rare 
intervals  by  farms  and  villages.  The  roads  are  of  the  most 
primitive  sort,  and  during  the  rainy  season  become  almost 
entirely  impassable.  Atlanta,  the  principal  town  in  North 
ern  Georgia,  at  that  time  contained  a  population  of  about 
20,000,  and  being  situated  at  the  crossing  of  several  rail 
roads,  the  rebels  had  made  it  a  point  for  the  manufacture 
and  distribution  of  military  stores  of  all  kinds.  Recognizing 
its  strategic  importance,  they  had  fortified  it  strongly  in 

*  General  Sherman's  forces  were  divided  as  follows  : 

Army  of  the  Cumberland.      Army  of  the  Tennessee.  Army  of  the  Ohio. 

Infantry, 54,568  22,437  11,183 

Artillery, 2,377  1,404  679 

Cavalry, 3;828  "  624  1,697 


Total,  .  .  .  60,773  24,465  13,559 

Guns, 130  96  28 

Grand  aggregate  of  troops,  98,797 ;  guns,  254. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  273 

1863,  and  were  now  prepared  to  struggle  manfully  for  its 
defense.   • 

The  position  of  the  enemy  at  Rocky  Face,  was  found  to  be 
too  strong  to  be  carried  by  direct  attack  ;  Sherman,  therefore 
directed  Thomas  to  occupy  Tunnel  Hill,  a  few  miles  in  ad 
vance,  which  he  did  with  but  slight  opposition,  and  then  to 
demonstrate  stronglyin  front  of  the  enemy  along  Rocky  Face 
and  particularly  at  Buzzard  Roost.  Schofield  was  ordered  to 
move  down  from  Red  Clay,  as  closely  as  possible  to  Dalton, 
while  McPherson  was  to  turn  the  enemy's  position  by  mov 
ing  through  Ship's  Gap,  Villanow,  and  Snake  Creek  Gap, 
to  Resaca  on  the  railroad  eighteen  miles  behind  Johnston. 
Thomas  carried  out  his  part  of  the  programme  in  handsome 
style,  on  the  9th  of  May.  Newton's  division  of  Howard's 
corps,  made  a  lodgment  on  Rocky  Face  Ridge  after  a  gallant 
light,  and  turning  to  the  right  tried  to  reach  the  gap,  but 
finding  the  crest  quite  narrow  as  well  as  strongly  defended  by 
the  rebels,  they  were  compelled  to  desist.  Geary's  division  of 
Hooker's  corps  advanced  at  the  same  time,  but  failed  to  reach 
the  summit.  McPherson  got  within  striking  distance  of  the 
railroad  in  good  time,  on  the  9th,  driving  a  brigade  of  rebel 
cavalry  from  Snake  Creek  Gap,  but  fearing  that  Johnston 
might  fall  upon  his  flank  and  rear,  he  was  unwilling  to  hazard 
an  attack  against  the  rebel  works  at  Resaca,  and  therefore 
withdrew  towards  Snake  Creek  Gap,  where  he  took  up  a 
strong  position.  But  this  flank  march  had  startled  Johnston, 
and  although  Sherman  was  chagrined  at  the  failure  of  the 
well-planned  movement  against  Resaca,  he  hastened  to  re-en 
force  it  at  the  earliest  hour  by  sending  Thomas  with  Hooker's 
and  Palmer's  corps,  followed  closely  by  Schofield,  while  How 
ard  was  left  with  his  own  corps  and  the  cavalry  to  keep  up 
the  demonstration  against  Buzzard  Roost ;  but  Johnston  now 
evacuated  that  place  and  fell  back  rapidly  towards  the  new 
position  which  he  had  prepared  near  Resaca. 

On  the  12th,  the  whole  army,  with  the  exception  of  How 
ard's  corps,  assembled  at  Snake  Creek  Gap,  and  pushed  for 
ward  at  once,  McPherson  covered  by  Kilpatrick's  division  of 
18 


274  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.    GKANT. 

cavalry,  in  advance*,  on  the  direct  road  to  Resaca,  while 
Thomas  moved  to  the  left  of  McPherson,  followed  again  by 
Schofield.  Kilpatrick  drove  Wheeler's  rebel  horse  steadily 
back  to  within  two  miles  of  Resaca,  where  he  was  wounded, 
and  compelled  to  leave  the  field,  turning  his  command  over 
to  Colonel  Murray  his  next  in  rank.  At  this  juncture 
McPherson's  advance  pushed  forward,  and  relieved  the  cav 
alry,  driving  the  rebels  beyond  Camp  Creek  and  into  the  line 
of  works  covering  Resaca  and  the  great  bend  of  the  Oosten- 
aula  River.  Johnston  had  already  got  there  having  marched 
rapidly  and  by  the  best  road  in  that  region,  while  Sherman's 
army  was  compelled  to  pursue  a  devious  mountain  route, 
over  roads  nearly  as  bad  as  roads  could  be.  Sherman  lost 
no  time  in  enveloping  the  rebel  works.  Thomas  was  thrown 
forward  into  position  on  the  left  of  McPherson ;  Schofield 
pushed  through  the  entangled  forest  to  Thomas'  left,  while 
Howard  marched  down  the  main  road  from  Dalton.  Sher 
man  also  directed  McPherson  to  throw  a  bridge  across  the 
Oostenaula  at  Lay's  Ferry,  below  Resaca,  and  to  send 
Sweeney's  division  of  the  Sixteenth  corps  to  threaten  Cal- 
houn,  a  point  still  further  in  Johnston's  rear.  To  give  this 
movement  greater  effect,  Garrard's  division  of  cavalry  was 
ordered  to  march  from  Villanow  towards  Rome,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  crossing  the  Oostenaula  and  swinging  into  the  rail 
road  between  Calhoun  and  Kingston. 

While  these  strategical  movements  were  in  the  process  of 
execution,  McPherson  succeeded  in  crossing  Camp  Creek 
near  its  mouth,  and  driving  the  rebels  under  Polk  from  the 
commanding  ridge,  which  they  held,  back  to  their  inner  line 
of  works.  Thomas  at  the  same  time  pressed  close  into  the 
Creek  Valley,  farther  to  the  left,  and  threw  Hooker's  corps 
across  its  head  to  the  Dalton  road  down  which  he  moved  till 
he  had  also  closed  in  on  the  enemy's  lines.  By  the  evening 
of  the  14th,  after  a  good  deal  of  desultory  skirmishing  and 
some  sharp  fighting,  Sherman's  forces  were  all  in  position  and 
on  the  next  day  moved  to  the  attack.  A  heavy  battle  ensued, 
without  much  advantage  to  any  part  of  the  Union  army  ex- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  275 

cept  that  under  Hooker,  who  drove  the  rebels  from  the  hills 
in  his  front,  capturing  four  guns  and  a  considerable  number 
of  prisoners.  Finding  that  his  position  was  no  longer  tenable, 
Johnston  evacuated  it  during  the  night  and  fell  back  rapidly 
towards  Adairsville,  where  he  prepared  to  make  a  stand. 
The  next  day  Thomas  followed  close  upon  his  heels  by  the 
main  road  through  Resaca,  skirmishing  with  Hardee,  who  had 
been  left  to  cover  the  retreat.  After  crossing  the  river,  Jeff. 
C.  Davis'  division  was  sent  to  Rome,  which  place  it  captured, 
taking  ten  large  guns,  and  many  stores,  besides  destroying  a 
number  of  mills  and  much  valuable  property. 

Leaving  a  small  force  to  garrison  the  place,  Davis  pushed 
on  to  rejoin  the  army.  Schofield  struggled  through  the 
country  to  the  left  of  Thomas,  making  roads,  or  following 
such  trails  as  promised  to  lead  him  in  the  right  direction. 
McPherson  crossed  the  Oostenaula  at  Lay's  Ferry,  and  joined 
in  the  pursuit  with  all  the  speed  that  could  be  made  in  the 
difficult  region  through  which  he  marched.  Thomas'  advance 
under  Newton,  came  up  with  the  enemy  at  Adairsville,  where 
a  sharp  skirmish  ensued,  but  before  dispositions  for  the  attack 
were  completed,  Johnston  again  fell  back,  covering  his  rear 
skillfully,  and  taking  up  a  strong  position  about  Cassville, 
whither  our  army  pursued  him,  marching  by  the  way  of 
Kingston.  The  indications  at  this  place  were  strongly  in 
favor  of  a  general  battle ;  but  as  the  Union  army  concen 
trated  for  the  attack,  Johnston  acting  under  the  advice  of 
Hood  and  Polk,  though  against  that  of  Hardee,  abandoned 
the  ground  which  he  had  chosen,  and  fell  behind  the  Etowah, 
holding  Allatoona  pass,  to  cover  his  future  movements.  He 
afterwards  regretted  this  step,  but  it  was  too  late  to  change  his 
mind.  Sherman,  without  an  hour's  hesitation,  determined  to 
cross  the  Etowah  and  turn  the  position  at  Allatoona ;  after  pro 
viding  his  entire  army  with  twenty  days'  rations,  he  cut  loose 
from  the  railroad,  and  directed  his  columns  on  Dallas,  whither 
he  had  already  ordered  Davis  to  move  from  Rome.  Thomas 
marched  by  the  direct  road  through  Burnt  Hickory  to  that 
place  ;  McPherson  passed  still  further  to  the  right  through 


276  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GKANT. 

Van  Wert,  intending  to  come  in  on  Thomas'  right,  while 
Scholield,  taking  a  somewhat  more  direct  line,  was  expected 
to  take  position  on  Thomas'  left ;  but  Johnston  seemed  to 
divine  the  plan,  and  interposed  his  left  strongly  at  New  Hope 
Church.  On  the  25th  of  May,  General  Hooker,  leading 
Thomas'  column,  encountered  Jackson's  rebel  cavalry  on 
Pumpkin-vine  Creek,  but  brushing  them  rapidly  out  of  the 
way,  he  pushed  across  the  creek,  saving  the  bridges  which 
had  been  set  on  fire,  and  about  two  miles  further  on  came  up 
with  the  outlying  pickets  of  Hood's  corps.  These  were  at 
tacked  by  Geary,  and  driven  back  to  the  main  rebel  line. 
The  rest  of  Hooker's  troops,  moving  on  other  roads,  did 
not  get  up  till  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  General  Sherman 
ordered  Hooker  to  attack  with  his  whole  corps  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  possession  of  the  junction  of  the  roads  radiating 
from  New  Hope  Church.  The  troops  assaulted  boldly  and 
vehemently,  but  the  rebel  works  were  too  strong  and  too  well 
manned  by  Stewart's  division  to  be  captured.  Hooker's 
loss  was  considerable.  The  next  morning  McPherson  moved 
through  Dallas,  and  deployed  in  front  of  the  position  at  New 
Hope  Church,  while  Schofield  was  directed  to  the  left  with 
the  expectation  of  overlapping  and  turning  the  hostile  right. 
Garrard's  division  of  cavalry  operated  on  the  right  flank  of 
the  army,  and  Stoneman  on  the  left. 

Owing  to  the  dense  forests,  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  or 
making  proper  roads,  much  time  was  lost  in  working  the 
army  into  position,  and  much  skirmishing  with  some  heavy 
fighting  took  place,  during  which  Sherman  decided  to  work 
in  towards  the  railroad,  striking  it  south-east  of  Ackworth. 
While  he  was  in  the  act  of  moving  in  that  direction,  the  rebels 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  strike  at  McPherson, 
then  fortified  in  front  of  Dallas ;  they  made  a  determined  at 
tack  upon  his  works,  but  met  with  a  bloody  repulse.  After 
this  several  days  of  inactivity  intervened,  when  Sherman 
began  again  to  extend  his  left  by  moving  Thomas  towards 
the  railroad  four  or  five  miles,  gradually  closing  Schofield 
and  McPherson  in  the  same  direction,  thus  covering  all  the 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  277 

roads  leading  back  to  Allatoona  and  Ackworth.  This  was 
done  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  was  at  once  followed  by  a  cav 
alry  movement  upon  Allatoona,  front  and  rear,  resulting  in  its 
capture.  Sherman  was  now  relieved  of  apprehension  for  his 
communications,  and  enabled  to  take  measures  at  once  for 
the  reconstruction  of  the  railroad  bridge  across  the  Etowah, 
a  few  miles  to  the  rear,  and  for  the  establishment  of  a  second 
ary  base  of  supplies  at  Allatoona.  He  did  not  suspend  his 
movements  however,  but  continued  to  work  to  the  left,  now 
menacing  the  right  and  rear  of  the  rebel  lines,  and  now 
threatening  to  push  entirely  beyond  and  throw  them  from 
their  line  of  retreat  towards  Atlanta.  Johnston  was  not  slow 
to  conform  to  Sherman's  movement,  but  anticipated  him  in 
most  cases  with  ready  address ;  planting  his  army  in  well 
selected  positions,  and  holding  it  compact  and  alert  in  the 
roads  along  which  his  adversary  wished  to  advance. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  he  held  a  strong  position  with 
his  left  at  Lost  Mountain  and  his  right  near  the  railroad, 
covering  the  roads  to  Atlanta.  On  the  7th,  he  fell  back, 
taking  up  a  position  behind  Noonday  Creek,  with  his  right 
extended  to  the  Ackworth  and  Marietta  Road.  On  the  8th 
of  June,  Sherman  was  re-enforced  by  Blair  with  two  divis 
ions  of  the  Seventeenth  corps,  and  Long's  brigade  of  cavalry, 
belonging  to  Garrard's  division,  thus  bringing  the  army  up  to 
its  original  numbers,  notwithstanding  the  killed  and  wounded 
and  the  detachments  left  at  Rome,  Kingston  and  Allatoona. 
As  the  rebels  fell  back  they  destroyed  the  railroad,  compel 
ling  Sherman  to  weaken  and  delay  himself  by  detachments 
for  its  repair.  Johnston  showed  himself  during  this  time 
and  in  fact  throughout  the  entire  campaign  to  be  a  ready 
strategist,  and  a  careful  painstaking  General,  always  dis 
covering  the  intentions  of  his  adversary  in  time  to  prevent 
disaster  and  covering  his  own  movements  with  consummate 
skill.  Skirmishing  was  a  matter  of  hourly  occurrence,  but 
neither  General  seemed  willing  to  bring  on  an  engagement 
till  there  was  a  good  opportunity  for  striking  a  vital  blow. 
On  the  9th  of  June,  having  re-established  his  communica- 


278  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

tions  and  brought  forward  an  abundance  of  supplies  Sher 
man  moved  to  Big  Shanty ;  meanwhile  the  enemy  fell  back 
to  Pine,  Lost,  and  Kenesaw  Mountains,  covering  Marietta 
and  the  railroad  as  far  as  the  Chattahoochee  River. 

Hardee's  corps  held  the  left  of  the  hostile  line,  resting  on 
Lost  Mountain ;  Polk,  the  center,  thrown  to  the  front  on  Pine 
Mountain,  while  Hood,  resting  on  Kenesaw  covered  the  roads 
to  Marietta.  Sherman  pressed  forward  to  break  the  rebel 
lines  between  Pine  Mountain  and  Kenesaw,  but  before  the 
attack  could  be  made,  Johnston  drew  back  his  center  to  the 
rugged  ridge  joining  Lost  Mountain  and  Kenesaw,  where  he 
strongly  fortified  himself  and  prepared  to  make  a  determined 
resistance.  During  this  operation,  General  Polk  was  killed, 
and  was  succeeded  in  the  command  of  his  corps,  by  Lovell. 
The  weather  was  rainy  and  disagreeable,  and  hence  the  roads 
became  so  bad  that  the  army  could  scarcely  get  forward,  still 
it  did  not  falter,  but  kept  pressing  close  upon  the  rebel  lines. 
On  the  llth,  Sherman  telegraphed  to  Washington :  "  I  will 
proceed  with  due  caution,  and  try  to  make  no  mistake,"  ad 
ding,  "  one  of  my  chief  objects  being  to  give  full  employment 
to  Joe  Johnston,  it  makes  but  little  difference  where  he  is,  so 
he  is  not  on  his  way  to  Virginia."  On  the  13th,  he  tele 
graphed  :  "  As  soon  as  possible,  I  will  study  Johnston's 
position  on  Kenesaw  and  Lost  Mountains,  and  adopt  some 
plan  to  dislodge  him,  or  draw  him  out  of  his  position.  We 
can  not  risk  the  heavy  losses  of  an  assault,  at  this  distance 
from  our  base.  Cars  now  come  to  our  very  front  camp.  All 
well." 

On  the  14th,  he  informed  Mr.  Stanton  that  he  had  received 
news  of  the  defeat  of  Sturgis,  sent  out  specially  from  Mem 
phis  to  hold  Forrest,  and  to  keep  him  off  the  Chattanooga 
railroad  ;  that  he  had  ordered  A.  J.  Smith  to  be  sent  after 
Forrest,  and  then  prepared  to  move  forward,  but  owing  to 
the  elevated  position  of  the  enemy  could  make  no  movement, 
not  plainly  in  his  view,  except  under  cover  of  darkness. 
McPherson  held  the  left,  Thomas  the  center  and  Schofield 
the  right  on  the  old  Sandtown  Road,  pressing  well  around  on 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  279 

the  rebel  flank,  to  counteract  which  Hood  was  withdrawn 
from  McPherson's  front  and  thrown  to  the  left  confronting 

o 

Schofield.  On  the  22d,  Hooker  and  Schofield  advanced 
their  lines  beyond  the  Kulp  House,  when  the  rebels  sallied 
from  their  work,  striking  Williams'  division  and  Hascall's 
brigade,  driving  them  back  upon  the  main  line,  and  involving 
themselves  in  a  terrible  battle,  in  which  they  were  badly 
beaten,  leaving  many  killed  and  wounded  in  the  hands  of  the 
Union  soldiery.  By  this  time  Sherman  had  gained  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  enemy's  position,  and  although  it  was  found 
to  be  as  strong  as  it  could  well  be  made  both  by  natural  and 
artificial  defences,  he  determined  to  venture  upon  an  assault 
in  the  hope  of  breaking  through  the  left  center,  and  reaching 
Marietta  soon  enough  to  fall  upon  and  destroy  the  rebel  right. 
He  issued  his  orders  accordingly,  but  owing  to  the  continued 
rains  and  bad  roads,  it  was  not  until  the  27th,  that  the  troops 
could  be  got  into  position  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

On  that  day  the  assaults  were  made  at  points  about  a  mile 
apart,  by  McPherson  and  Thomas,  but  failed,  notwithstand 
ing  the  gallantry  displayed  by  both  officers  and  men.  It  cost 
the  national  troops  heavily  in  killed  and  wounded,  including 
Generals  D.  McCook  and  Harker,  both  officers  of  fine  prom 
ise,  and  the  latter  already  greatly  distinguished  for  gallantry 
and  good  management  at  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  and 
Chattanooga.  The  rebel  loss  did  not  probably  exceed  500 
men,  while  Sherman's  was  not  far  from  3,000.  In  his  official 
report,  Sherman  frankly  says :  "  Failure  as  it  was,  and  for 
which  I  assume  the  entire  responsibility,  I  yet  claim  it  pro 
duced  good  fruits,  as  it  demonstrated  to  Johnston  that  I  would 
assault,  and  that  boldly  ;  and  we  also  gained  and  held  ground 
so  close  to  the  enemy's  parapets,  that  he  could  not  show  a 
head  above  them."  The  justification  is  hardly  admissible, 
but  the  assumption  of  the  blame  is  entirely  worthy  of  com 
mendation. 

The  armies  remained  in  their  relative  positions  till  the  2d  of 
July,  at  which  time  McPherson  drew  out  of  his  works  in  front 
of  Kenesaw,  leaving  them  to  be  held  by  Garrard's  dismounted 


280  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

cavalry,  and  in  pursuance  of  Sherman's  instructions,  moved 
by  his  right  flank  towards  Nickajack  Creek  and  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  by  the  Turner's  Ferry  road.  In  this  movement  his 
right  was  covered  by  a  corresponding  movement  of  Stone- 
man's  cavalry,  which  struck  the  river  below  Turner's.  John 
ston  discovering  the  movement,  and  fearing  for  his  left  and 
rear,  fell  back  to  Smyrna  camp-meeting  ground,  five  miles 
south-west  of  Marietta.  In  this  position  his  flanks  were  pro 
tected  by  Nickajack  and  Rottenwood  Creeks,  and  his  lines 
covered  the  approaches  to  a  strong  tete-de-pont  which  he  had 
constructed  in  anticipation  of  a  possible  crossing  of  the  Chat- 
tahoochee.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d,  Thomas  moved  by  his 
left  flank  to  the  railroad  and  then  turned  the  head  of  his  col 
umns  southward  in  pursuit.  Logan's  corps  of  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee,  was  sent  to  take  possession  of  Marietta,  while 
McPherson  and  Schofield  pushed  across  Nickajack,  turning 
the  left  of  the  rebel  position,  and  intending  to  fall  upon  them 
while  crossing  the  river,  but  Johnston  had  provided  for  such 
a  contingency,  and  withdrawing  his  army  into  the  tete-de-pont^ 
held  his  ground  till  forced  by  other  combinations  to  abandon 
it.  Logan  was  now  directed  to  leave  a  small  force  at  Marietta, 
and  to  push  forward  and  rejoin  McPherson ;  Thomas,  also, 
marched  to  the  river  skirmishing  heavily  with  the  rebels, 
while  Sherman  pushed  to  the  front  in  person,  and  finding 
that  the  rebel  General  held  a  strongly  fortified  position  cover 
ing  the  railroad  and  pontoon  bridges,  he  did  not  think  it  safe 
to  hazard  a  direct  attack,  and  therefore  decided  to  make  a 
new  turning  movement. 

Withdrawing  Schofield  from  his  position  in  reserve,  he  or 
dered  him  to  march  by  the  Smyrna  camp-ground  road  to 
the  mouth  of  Soap  Creek,  and  to  make  a  lodgment  from  that 
place  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  This  was  done  with 
great  skill  and  precision,  while  Garrard  was  sent  to  secure 
the  ford  at  Roswell,  as  well  as  to  destroy  the  cloth  factories 
established  at  that  place.  Thomas  then  directed  Newton's 
division  to  the  same  point,  whither  it  was  followed  rapidly  by 
Dodge's  corps,  and  soon  after  by  McPherson's  entire  army. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  281 

Howard  was  sent  to  Power's  Ferry,  two  miles  below  Scho- 
field,  and  by  the  evening  of  the  9th,  Sherman  had  secured 
three  points  of  passage,  had  built  bridges,  and  united  the 
most  of  his  force  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chattahoochee. 
Johnston  had  distributed  his  cavalry  under  Wheeler  and 
Jackson,  to  watch  the  river  for  twenty  miles  above  and  below, 
and  was  therefore  kept  informed  of  all  that  took  place  on 
either  flank.  On  the  night  of  the  9th,  he  withdrew  his  army 
to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  going  into  position  again  be 
hind  Peach-tree  Creek,  with  his  left  resting  on  the  river,  and 
his  right  extended  well  out  to  cover  the  approaches  to  Atlanta 
now.  only  five  or  six  miles  in  his  rear.  He  set  his  engineers 
and  a  large  force  of  negroes  to  work  on  the  fortifications,  and 
prepared  as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit,  for  the  crisis 
about  to  burst  upon  him. 

He  had  doubtless  managed  his  campaign  defensively,  with 
great  skill,  but  had  lost  according  to  his  own  accounts,  10,000 
killed  and  wounded,  and  4,700  prisoners,*  besides  the  crops 
of  grain  in  the  region  north  of  Atlanta,  and  the  extensive 
manufacturing  establishments  at  Etowah,  Home,  and  Roswell. 
The  campaign  had  now  reached  that  point,  at  which  both 
leaders  seemed  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  proceeding  with 
great  caution  and  certainty.  Sherman  gave  his  army  rest, 
and  passed  a  week  in  bringing  forward  stores,  strengthening 
his  detachments  along  the  railway,  and  perfecting  the  re 
pairs  of  the  road,  his  sole  dependence  for  the  support  of  his 
army. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  in  pursuance  of  Sherman's  instruc 
tions,  Rousseau  inarched  from  Decatur  on  the  Tennessee  River, 
with  a  cavalry  force  of  something  over  2,000  men,  for  the 
purpose  of  breaking  up  the  railroad  to  Opelika  and  Mont 
gomery,  thus  interrupting  Johnston's  communications  with 
the  South-west.  Moving  with  great  celerity,  he  crossed  the 
Coosa  at  Ten  Islands  on  the  14th,  defeating  Clanton's  brigade, 
and  inarching  thence  to  Talladega.  On  the  16th,  he  struck 
the  railroad  at  Loachapoka,  and  marched  thence  to  Chehaw 
*  "  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  348. 


282  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Station,  where  he  again  defeated  the  enemy,  and  proceeded 
to  Opelika,  destroying  about  thirty-two  miles  of  track  during 
his  march.  He  then  moved  to  the  north-eastward,  reaching 
Marietta  on  the  22d,  having  lost  about  thirty  men,  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing. 

On  the  17th,  Sherman  resumed  the  offensive,  directing 
Thomas  to  march  by  Buckhead,  and  Schofield  by  Cross 
Keys,  following  McPherson  who  was  to  march  towards 
Decatur  east  of  Atlanta,  by  the  way  of  Stone  Mountain. 
Garrard's  cavalry  was  thrown  forward  on  the  left  flank  of 
McPherson,  while  Stoneman  and  McCook  continued  to  watch 
the  river  and  roads  west  of  the  railway.  These  movements 
were  intended  to  operate  as  a  general  right  wheel  of  the  en 
tire  army,  throwing  the  left  flank  against  Atlanta  and  its 
eastern  communications,  while  the  right  wing  and  centre 
should  confront  the  rebel  army  an  Peach-tree  Creek.  In  this 
order  the  different  columns  closed  in,  converging  on  Atlanta, 
but  in  the  meantime  a  change  had  taken  plaee  in  the  opposing 
army.  Davis,  the  rebel  President,  it  seems  had  now  lost  all 
confidence  in  Johnston's  generalship  and  courage,  and  on  the 
17th,  suspended  him  from  command  and  assigned  to  General 
Hood  the  duty  of  fighting  and  beating  Sherman.  It  can  not 
be  doubted  that  in  this,  Davis  committed  a  grave  mistake, 
viewed  from  a  purely  military  stand-point,  for  although  John 
ston  had  not  risked  a  battle  with  Sherman,  he  had  shown 
himself  to  be  a  wily  and  able  antagonist. 

Sherman  and  many  of  our  best  Generals  had  already 
learned  to  regard  him  as  the  foremost  of  the  Confederate 
leaders.  He  had  been  recognized,  from  the  time  of  his  cam 
paign  against  Patterson  to  his  defeat  of  McClellan  on  the 
Peninsula,  as  the  exponent  of  vigorous  offensive  measures, 
the  basis  of  the  true  policy  for  the  Confederacy.  In  all 
situations  he  had  shown  great  boldness,  independence  and 
fortitude,  and  although  he  never  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
Davis  and  his  party,  he  was  undoubtedly  an  abler  man  than 
Davis  or  any  member  of  his  Cabinet,  and  a  better  General 
than  Lee.  He  was  a  better  man  before  the  war,  a  more 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 


honest  enemy  and  a  better  General  during  it,  and  has  been  a 
better  citizen  since.  His  successor,  General  Hood,  noted  for 
nothing  except  being  a  hard  fighter  and  a  fair  commander  of 
a  corps,  was  selected  as  the  exponent  of  the  fighting  policy, 
by  which  he  was  expected  to  overwhelm  Sherman,  and  re 
deem  the  waning  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER     XXIX. 

SHERMAN  CLOSING  IN  UPON  ATLANTA— THE  GAP  IN  PALMER'S  CORPS- 
RECKLESS  ATTACK  OF  THE  REBELS — REPULSE  BY  HOOKER'S  CORPS 
— HOOD  RETIRES  TO  DEFENSES  OF  ATLANTA — THE  STRUGGLE  UPON 
LEGGETT  HILL — THE  ATTACK  UPON  M'PHERSON — DEATH  OF  M'PHER- 
SON — GARRARD  JOINS  SHERMAN — HIS  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  RAIL 
ROAD — HOWARD  IN  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE 

THE  ATTACK  UPON  LOGAN'S  CORPS — SLOCUM  SUCCEEDS  HOOKER — 
FAILURE  OF  THE  CAVALRY  EXPEDITIONS — STONEMAN's  SURREN 
DER — WHEELER'S  RAID — SHERMAN  THROWS  HIS  ARMY  ACROSS  THE 

WEST  POINT  RAILROAD — THE  ATTACK  UPON  HOWARD — EVACUA 
TION  OF  ATLANTA — RESULTS  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN — HOOD  FALLS  UPON 

SHERMAN'S  COMMUNICATIONS — PREPARES  HIS  SCHEMES  FOR  INVAD 
ING  TENNESSEE. 

ON  the  20th,  Sherman's  three  armies  had  closed  well  in 
upon  Atlanta,  but  a  gap  of  considerable  extent  having  been 
left  between  Schofield  and  Thomas,  the  latter  was  directed  to 
send  two  divisions  of  Howard's  corps  to  the  left,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  close  communication  with  Schofield. 
This  disposition  had  been  but  partially  completed,  when  the 
rebel  leader  perceived  an  opening  between  Newton's  division, 
and  Johnson's  division  of  Palmer's  corps,  and  massed  a 
heavy  force,  with  which  to  penetrate  the  gap,  hoping  thereby 
to  destroy  the  right  of  Thomas'  army.  The  attack  was 
made  at  a  little  past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  is 
described  by  a  rebel  writer  as  "  one  of  the  most  reckless, 
massive,  and  headlong  charges  of  the  war,"  *  gallantly  led 
by  the  divisions  of  Bate  and  Walker  of  Hardee's  corps  ;  and, 
although  it  caught  the  national  troops  somewhat  unprepared, 
*  "  Pollard's  Southern  History  of  the  War." 


LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  285 

it  was  repulsed  by  Hooker's  corps  fighting  uncovered,  aided 
by  Newton  with  fence-rail  breastworks,  and  Johnson  who 
had  constructed  a  line  of  good  entrenchments.  The  rebels 
left  upon  the  field  500  dead,  and  1,000  severely  wounded, 
besides  many  prisoners.  Their  loss  could  not  have  been  far 
from  5,000  men  in  all.  Sherman's  entire  loss  was  only  about 
500.  Such  an  offensive  did  not  promise  the  most  flattering 
results,  but  Hood  was  not  discouraged  and  determined  to  try 
his  fortune  still  farther. 

On  the  night  of  the  21st,  after  considerable  skirmishing 
throughout  the  day,  he  abandoned  the  line  of  Peach-tree 
Creek,  withdrawing  to  the  immediate  defenses  of  Atlanta, 
and  was  closely  followed  in  the  same  direction  by  Sherman's 
entire  army ;  Thomas  on  the  right,  Schofield  in  the  center, 
and  McPherson  on  the  left.  The  latter  in  advancing  from 
Decatur,  followed  the  road  parallel  with  the  Augusta  railway, 
and  on  the  21st,  captured  from  the  enemy  a  commanding 
eminence,  to  the  south-eastward  of  the  railroad,  from  the  top 
of  which  he  could  plainly  see  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  not 
over  two  miles  distant.  Blair's  corps  (the  Seventeenth)  was 
ordered  to  take  possession  of  this  hill  and  fortify  it,  and  in 
order  to  render  its  tenure  entirely  certain,  Dodge's  corps, 
now  in  reserve  on  the  right,  was  ordered  to  Blair's  support. 
It  began  the  movement  by  a  wood  road  approaching  Atlanta 
and  running  diagonally  towards  Blair's  left.  These  move 
ments  were  in  the  process  of  execution,  when  at  about  noon 
on  the  22d,  McPherson  found  his  left  and  rear  suddenly  at 
tacked  with  great  vigor,  by  the  rebels  advancing  from  the 
south-east.  Hood  had  detached  Hardee  the  night  before, 
with  orders  to  make  a  wide  detour,  and  to  fall  upon  McPher- 
son's  exposed  flank.  This  march  had  been  silently  executed, 
and  brought  the  enemy  into  position  in  a  most  unexpected 
quarter.  McPherson's  left  division  had  fortunately  been 
thrown  back  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  railroad  line,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  make  head  for  awhile  against  the  over 
whelming  onslaught  of  Hardee.  As  soon  as  McPherson 
heard  the  firing,  he  galloped  in  that  direction,  pushing 


286  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

through  the  woods  to  the  rear  of  Blair  and  Logan,  and  rode 
towards  the  railroad  evidently  expecting  to  find  Dodge,  but 
had  not  gone  far  before  he  ran  into  the  rebels,  who  fired 
upon  and  killed  him.  Logan,  the  next  in  rank,  assumed 
commune!  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  was  instructed 
by  Sherman  at  once  to  hold  the  ground  already  chosen,  par 
ticularly  the  Bald  Hill  which  had  been  captured  the  evening 
before  by  Leggett's  division.  The  head  of  Dodge's  column 
had  reached  a  point  within  a  half  mile  of  Leggett's  Hill, 
when  Hardee  began  his  attack  through  the  intervening  space. 
McPherson's  last  order  was  to  direct  Wangelin's  brigade  of 
the  Fifteenth  corps  to  fill  this  gap,  but  the  troops  did  not 
reach  it  in  time  to  stop  the  rebel  advance,  though  they 
moved  at  the  double-quick.  The  rebel  plan  was  well  laid, 
and  had  it  been  as  well  executed,  a  great  defeat  might  have 
been  inflicted  upon  our  arms.  Hood  had  directed  Stewart 
with  Folk's  corps  to  attack  McPherson  in  front,  while  Har 
dee  advanced  upon  his  flank  and  rear,  but  fortunately  these 
attacks  were  not  made  simultaneously.  The  latter  column 
had  carried  Leggett's  Hill,  capturing  the  pioneer  company 
engaged  in  fortifying  it,  and  was  pushing  on  when  it  was 
checked  by  Giles  Smith's  division,  now  thrown  back  nearly 
perpendicular  to  its  old  line,  connecting  its  right  with  Leg- 
gett.  At  the  same  time  Dodge's  lines  were  thrown  forward 
and  attacked  Hardee's  right,  capturing  a  number  of  prison 
ers  and  breaking  the  force  of  the  rebel  onset,  thus  giving 
time  to  arrange  for  further  defense.  A  lull  now  took  place 
in  the  battle,  but  the  rebels  continued  their  movement  along 
the  Decatur  road  and  railway,  and  at  four  o'clock  again  ad 
vanced,  falling  upon  an  advanced  regiment  with  a  section  of 
guns,  and  pushing  on,  broke  through  the  lines  which  had 
been  somewhat  weakened  by  the  withdrawal  of  a  brigade,  to 
re-enforce  the  extreme  left. 

This  break  separated  the  two  wings  of  the  Fifteenth  corps 
entirely,  and  gave  the  enemy  possession  of  two  batteries. 
At  this  crisis,  Logan,  flaming  out  with  the  determination  of  a 
Ney  or  a  Massena,  threw  the  broken  corps  forward  with 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  287 

irresistible  vigor,  for  the  purpose  of  regaining  the  lost 
ground.  The  movement  was  watched  by  Sherman  with 
breathless  anxiety,  but  he  was  soon  gratified  by  seeing  his 
lines  re-established  and  all  the  guns  regained,  except  :two 
which  had  been  withdrawn  by  the  rebels  towards  Atlanta. 
This  was  one  of  the  strangest  battles  of  the  war,  and  noth 
ing  but  the  steady  valor  of  the  troops  and  the  good  manage 
ment  of  Logan  and  his  officers,  saved  Sherman  from  a  great 
disaster.  Logan,  Leggett,  Giles  Smith  and  Dodge,  did  all 
that  could  be  done,  while  nfaintaining  their  position,  to  inflict 
damage  upon  the  enemy.  The  men  of  Smith's  and  Leg- 
gett's  divisions  were  frequently  compelled  to  fight  from 
either  side  of  the  same  entrenchments  in  rapid  succession, 
first  driving  back  Hardee  and  then  jumping  the  parapets  to 
receive  the  attack  of  Stewart.  But  so  coolly  did  they  act 
that  in  no  case  did  they  forget  to  take  their  prisoners  with 
them.  In  this  hazardous  work,  Colonel  Belknap,  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Iowa  volunteers,  was  particularly  conspicuous,  and 
a  few  days  afterwards  was  rewarded  for  his  gallantry  by 
the  President  with  the  commission  of  Brigadier  General. 
Sherman's  losses  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  were 
3,722  men ;  including  among  the  killed  the  accomplished  and 
much  beloved  McPherson,  the  trusted  friend  of  both  Grant 
and  Sherman.  The  enemy's  loss  was  not  far  from  8,000, 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  according  to  the  best  informa 
tion  which  can  be  obtained. 

On  the  23d,  Garrard's  division  joined  Sherman,  having 
broken  the  railway  towards  Atlanta,  and  destroyed  the  large 
bridges  across  the  Yellow  and  the  Ulcofauhatchee  Rivers. 
This  left  Hood  without  any  line  of  railway  communication 
except  the  Macon  Road,  running  into  the  rich  region  of 
South-western  Georgia.  Sherman  was  determined  to  destroy 
that  road  also,  and  for  this  purpose  he  concentrated  Stone- 
man's  and  Garrard's  division  of  cavalry  on  the  left  of  the 
army,  numbering  in  all  about  5,000  effective  troopers ;  at  the 
same  time  he  sent  Rousseau's  cavalry,  now  uifder  Colonel  Har 
rison,  of  the  Eighth  Indiana,  to  report  to  General  E.  M. 


288  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

McCook  on  the  right,  bringing  that  officer's  command  up  to 
about  4,000  men.  These  columns  were  ordered  to  march 
respectively  by  McDonough  and  Fayetteville,  meeting  at 
Lovejoy's  Station  on  the  railroad,  on  the  night  of  the  28th, 
while  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  now  commanded  by  How 
ard,  was  directed  to  withdraw  from  its  place  on  the  extreme 
left,  and  marching  by  the  rear  of  Schofield  and  Thomas,  to 
swing  in  behind  Atlanta  and  take  position  at  East  Point,  the 
junction  of  the  two  roads  leading  to  the  south  and  westward. 

Pursuant  to  this  plan,  Howard 'moved  his  army  during  the 
26th  and  27th,  to  the  extreme  right,  reaching  well  around  to 
East  Point,  but  while  extending  in  the  same  direction  the 
next  day,  the  rebels  under  Hardee  and  Lee,  sallied  from  the 
works  about  Atlanta,  on  the  Ball's  Ferry  road,  and  attacked 
Logan's  corps  with  great  fury.  But  Logan  had  covered  his 
front  with  the  usual  breastworks  and  received  the  attack  with 
coolness,  repelling  it  as  often  as  six  times,  in  each  instance 
with  great  slaughter.  The  rebel  loss  was  estimated  by  Logan 
at  fully  5000,  while  his  own  did  not  exceed  600. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  Hooker  feeling  aggrieved  at  the 
promotion  of  Howard,  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee,  was,  at  his  own  request,  relieved,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  in  the  command  of  his  corps  by  General  Slocum ;  Pal 
mer  was  relieved  at  his  own  request,  by  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis, 
while  General  D.  S.  Stanley,  succeeded  Howard.  Logan, 
the  only  one  of  these  Generals  who  had  any  right  whatever, 
to  feel  aggrieved,  continued  bravely  at  his  post.  The  in 
terval  between  the  28th  of  July  and  the  15th  of  August, 
was  passed  by  Sherman  in  gradually  working  towards  the 
right.  The  combined  cavalry  expedition  had  proved  to  be  a 
complete  failure ;  for  although  McCook  reached  the  road  at 
the  time  and  place  specified,  he  had  not  succeeded  in  break 
ing  it  seriously  wlien  he  was  compelled  to  desist  and  with 
draw  towards  the  South-west,  for  the  purpose  of  extricating 
his  command  from  the  toils  now  being  thrown  about  it.  After 
much  hard  marching  and  fighting  he  succeeded  in  crossing 
to  the  north  of  the  Ch{*ttahoochee  and  rejoining  Sherman, 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  289 

with  the  loss  of  500  men  and  several  valuable  officers,  includ 
ing  Colonel  Harrison,  who  was  taken  prisoner.  Stoncman 
moved  at  the  appointed  time,  though  not  having  been  joined 
by  Garrard  as  he  expected,  he  did  not  go  to  Lovejoy's  at  all, 
but  inarching  by  the  way  of  Covington,  Monticello,  Ilills- 
boro  and  Clinton,  he  struck  for  Macon,  which  place  he  ap 
proached  on  the  30th  of  July,  but  hearing  that  in  anticipation 
of  his  raid,  the  prisoners  had  been  removed  to  North  Caro 
lina,  he  started  to  rejoin  the  army.  The  rebels  had,  in  the 
meantime,  gathered  a  few  scattered  militia  under  Armstrong 
and  Allen,  and  by  making  a  great  show  of  numbers,  so  im 
posed  upon  Stoneman  as  to  induce  him  to  surrender  that  part 
of  his  command  which  remained  to  share  such  an  ignominious 
fate.  The  brigades  of  Colonels  Adams  and  Capron  cut  their 
way  through  and  returned  to  the  army  in  good  time,  though 
somewhat  jaded  and  disorganized.  The  rest  might  have 
done  likewise  had  Stoneman  made  an  effort  worthy  of  the 
name  to  lead  them  back,  or  to  break  through  the  attenuated 
lines  which  environed  him. 

About  the  16th  of  August,  Hood  detached  his  cavalry 
under  Wheeler,  to  make  a  raid  upon  the  Union  communi 
cations.  Marching  around  Sherman's  left,  by  the  east  and 
north,  Wheeler  struck  the  railroad  at  Adairsville,  and  again 
at  Calhoun,  capturing  in  his  way  nine  hundred  beef  cattle ; 
he  then  marched  to  Dalton,  where  Colonel  Leibold  held  him 
in  check,  till  General  Steedman  arrived  from  Chattanooga  and 
drove  him  off  in  the  direction  of  Athens  in  East  Tennessee, 
where  he  remained  for  a  short  time.  He  moved  thence  soon 
afterwards  to  the  north  side  of  the  Little  Tennessee,  crossed 
the  Holston  near  Strawberry  Plains,  and  continued  his  march 
towards  McMinnville,  Murfreesboro,  and  Franklin  in  Middle 
Tennessee.  From  the  latter  place  he  was  driven  towards 
Florence  by  Rousseau,  Steedman,  and  Granger,  and  finally 
effected  his  escape  with  but  little  loss,  though  he  succeeded 
in  doing  no  permanent  injury  to  the  railroad  lines,  and  really 
weakened  Hood  considerably  by  his  absence.  Immediately 

after  he  started,  Sherman  seized  this  opportunity  to  send  Kil- 
19 


290  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

patrick  with  five  thousand  cavalry  to  break  the  West  Point 
Kailroad  near  Fairburn,  and  the  Macon  Koad  at  Jonesboro. 
Kilpatrick  marched  rapidly,  and  met  but  little  opposition, 
though  he  did  not  succeed  in  damaging  the  roads  seriously. 
All  the  efforts  of  the  cavalry  having  failed,  Sherman  now 
saw  that  there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  raise  the 
investment  of  Atlanta,  and  to  throw  his  entire  army  across 
its  southern  communications.  He  therefore  sent  the  Twenti 
eth  corps,  under  General  Williams,  back  to  the  fortified  posi 
tion  on  the  Chattahoochee,  and  by  a  series  of  well  executed 
movements,  swung  his  army  across  the  West  Point  Railroad ; 
Howard  above  Fairburn,  Thomas  at  Red  Oak,  and  Schofield 
at  a  point  known  as  "Digs  and  Minis,"  still  nearer  East 
Point.  Having  effectively  destroyed  the  railroad  for  twelve 
miles  and  a  half,  he  continued  the  movement  towards  the 
Macon  Road ;  Howard  on  the  extreme  right  towards  Jones 
boro,  Thomas  in  the  center  by  Shoal  Creek  Church,  and 
Schofield  on  the  left  towards  Rough  and  Ready.  These 
movements  were  all  progressing  favorably  on  the  31st,  when 
S.  D.  Lee's  and  Hardee's  corps  now  assembled  at  Jonesboro, 
marched  out  and  attacked  Howard,  but  that  officer  having 
encountered  some  opposition  after  crossing  the  head  of  the 
Flint  River,  had  covered  his  front  by  the  usual  entrenchments, 
and  was  therefore  well  prepared  to  receive  attack.  After 
two  hours  of  sanguinary  fighting  the  rebels  were  again  re 
pulsed,  leaving  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  killed  and 
wounded  on  the  field.  Thomas  and  Schofield  having  both 
reached  the  railroad,  were  ordered  to  close  in  towards  How 
ard,  breaking  the  railroad  as  they  marched  northward,  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  in  a  general  attack  upon  the  rebels 
now  isolated  at  Jonesboro.  Garrard's  cavalry  was  disposed 
so  as  to  interpose  between  Atlanta  and  the  Union  left,  while 
Kilpatrick  was  sent  to  the  extreme  right  to  threaten  the  road 
below  Jonesboro.  The  next  day,  about  five  o'clock  P.  M., 
Davis  assaulted  the  rebel  lines,  capturing  nearly  all  of 
Govan's  brigade,  and  eight  guns,  but  the  rest  of  the  army, 
owing  to  the  difficult  roads,  was  not  within  supporting  dis- 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GKANT.  291 

tance.  The  advantages  gained  could  not  therefore  be  pressed, 
and  during  the  night  the  enemy  evacuated  both  Jonesboro 
and  Atlanta.  Lee  and  Hardee  fell  back  to  a  strong  position 
behind  Walnut  Creek,  near  Lovejoy's  Station,  whither  they 
were  closely  followed  the  next  day  by  Thomas,  Howard, 
and  Schofield.  Stuart  retreated  from  Atlanta  towards 
McDonough,  while  Smith  with  the  militia  took  the  road  to 
Covington. 

Having  thus  maneuvered  the  enemy  out  of  Atlanta,  and 
feeling  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  bring  him  to  a  stand,  or 
to  overtake  him  in  that  country,  Sherman  determined  to  give 
up  the  pursuit  and  to  concentrate  his  army  about  Atlanta, 
for  rest  and  reorganization.  Thomas  took  post  in  and  around 
that  city,  Howard  at  East  Point,  and  Schofield  at  Decatur. 

Thus,  after  a  campaign  of  four  months,  Sherman  had 
reached  the  goal  assigned  him,  and  now  occupied  a  position 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  rebel  dominions,  eating  out  its  richest 
products,  intercepting  communication,  and  standing  ready  to 
push  forward  with  his  mighty  host  towards  Virginia,  or  to  the 
Atlantic  sea-coast.  The  great  advantage  of  his  victory  was, 
however,  that  it  enabled  Grant  to  move  Sherman  towards 
himself,  thus  interposing  a  powerful  army  between  Lee  and 
the  rebel  forces  in  the  South-west,  while  the  rebel  railroad 
system  should  be  completely  destroyed.  With  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  investing  Petersburg,  and  Sherman's  hundred 
thousand  veterans  at  Atlanta,  Grant  felt  that  the  days  of  the 
rebellion  were  numbered ;  for  although  the  armed  forces  of 
the  enemy  had  not  yet  been  destroyed,  they  had  been  out 
generaled,  and  henceforward,  although  they  might  struggle 
bravely  to  retrieve  their  fallen  fortunes,  they  were  destined 
to  gather  nothing  but  the  bitter  fruits  of  disappointment. 

Hood  concentrated  his  forces  at  Palmetto  Station,  on  the 
West  Point  Kailroad,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Atlanta, 
and  after  confronting  Sherman  for  awhile,  reorganized  his 
army  under  the  direction  of  Bcauregard,  and  threw  it  to  the 
north  side  of  the  Chattahoochee.  After  some  further  delay, 
he  struck  well  around  Sherman's  left,  fell  upon  his  communi- 


292  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

cations,  destroying  the  railroad  rapidly,  nearly  as  far  up  as 
Dalton.  Being  closely  pursued  by  Sherman,  he  drew  off  to 
the  westward,  and  prepared  to  carry  out  a  mad  scheme  for 
the  invasion  of  Tennessee,  hoping  thereby  to  compel  Sherman 
to  abandon  Atlanta,  and  to  follow  him  northward.  But,  it 
will  be  shown  hereafter,  that  this  plan  also  failed,  and  materi 
ally  aided  in  bringing  the  rebellion  to  an  inglorious  end. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

FORREST'S  MOVEMENTS  IN  NORTHERN  MISSISSIPPI — DEFEAT  OF  STUR- 
GIS — A.  J.  SMITH  MOVES  AGAINST  FORREST — BATTLE  AT  TUPELO — 
FORREST  DEFEATED — SMITH  WITHDRAWS  TO  JOIN  SHERMAN — FOR 
REST  AGAIN  COLLECTS  HIS  FORCE — CAPTURES  MEMPHIS — DRIVEN 
OFF  BY  GENERAL  WASHBURNE — FORREST  CAPTURES  ATHENS,  ALA 
BAMA — BREAKS  THE  RAILROAD  AT  TULLAHOMA — FORREST  DRIVEN 

BEYOND  THE  TENNESSEE — WHAT  FORREST  MIGHT  HAVE  ACCOM 
PLISHED —  WILSON  ASSIGNED  TO  COMMAND  THE  CAVALRY HE 

ORGANIZES  HIS  COMMAND — PRICE'S  INVASION  OF  MISSOURI — A.  J. 
SMITH  SENT  TO  MISSOURI — PRICE  ATTACKS  PILOT  KNOB — HIS  MOVE 
MENT  TOWARDS  THE  KANSAS  BORDER — GENERAL  CURTIS  PREPARES 
TO  RECEIVE  HIM — PRICE  DEFEATED  AT  BIG  BLUE  RIVER — CANBY'S 
COMMAND — OBSERVATIONS. 

DURING  Sherman's  campaign  into  Central  Georgia,  Forrest, 
a  bold  and  skillful  leader,  occupied  Northern  Mississippi  with 
a  large  force  of  rebel  cavalry,  which  had  been  extremely 
busy  in  striking  at  isolated  posts  along  the  Mississippi  and 
Ohio,  and  was  evidently  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  fall 
upon  Sherman's  communications  in  Tennessee  and  Northern 
Georgia.  To  neutralize  this  danger,  Sherman  before  begin 
ning  his  campaign,  directed  General  C.  C.  Washburn  to 
send  General  Sturgis  with  the  bulk  of  his  forces  in  West 
Tennessee  to  attack  the  rebels,  now  known  to  be  gathering 
near  the  northern  border  of  Mississippi.  The  contending 
forces  met  on  the  10th  of  June  near  Guntown,  one  hundred 
miles  south-east  of  Memphis.  After  a  sharp  fight  Sturgis 
was  defeated  and  driven  back  in  confusion  to  the  Mississippi, 
losing  his  guns  and  a  number  of  prisoners.  Forrest  pursued 
with  such  activity  and  seemed  to  be  so  overjoyed  at  his  sue- 


294  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

y 

cess  that  he  forgot  all  about  Sherman's  long  lines  of  railway 
communications,  and  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  plunder 
ing  and  galloping  over  West  Tennessee.  Shortly  after  the 
disgraceful  termination  of  this  expedition,  A.  J.  Smith  arrived 
at  Memphis,  on  his  way  from  the  Red  River  to  join  the  army 
of  the  center,  but  before  proceeding  to  Georgia  he  was  di 
rected  by  Sherman  to  take  the  field  against  Forrest.  In  pur 
suance  of  this  order  he  moved  at  once  from  Memphis  with  a 
considerable  force  of  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  on 
the  14th  of  July,  came  up  with  the  enemy  at  Tupelo,  where 
a  battle,  continuing  throughout  most  of  three  days,  occurred, 
in  which  Forrest  was  wounded  and  badly  beaten. 

The  country  being  destitute  of  supplies  however,  Smith 
shortly  afterwards  withdrew  in  the  direction  of  Memphis  to 
join  Sherman,  instead  of  pressing  his  advantages  and  ridding 
the  country  of  a  terrible  scourge.  Most  of  Forrest's  troops 
were  now  ordered  elsewhere  by  the  rebel  authorities,  and 
shortly  afterwards  he  withdrew  to  Okolona,  where  he  estab 
lished  his  head-quarters,  and  for  awhile  assumed  a  defensive 
attitude.  During  the  month  of  August,  he  again  collected 
his  men  and  pushed  rapidly  towards  Memphis,  flanking  the 
covering  force,  and  capturing  that  city,  which  he  held  for 
several  hours.  General  Washburn  gathering  re-enforce 
ments,  soon  compelled  him  to  retreat  again  towards  Grenada. 
From  here  he  struck  north-eastward,  and  on  the  20th  of 
September,  crossed  the  Tennessee  River  near  Waterloo, 
Alabama,  marching  directly  upon  Athens,  which  place  he 
captured  on  the  24th,  with  600  prisoners.  Soon  after  the 
surrender,  re-enforcements  consisting  of  two  entire  regi- 
ments  arrived,  and  after  a  gallant  defense,  were  also  com 
pelled  to  lay  down  their  arms.  Forrest  now  devoted  him 
self  to  breaking  up  the  railroad  westward  from  that  place. 
At  Sulphur  Trestle,  he  captured  another  small  garrison ; 
and  on  the  27th,  he  essayed  a  movement  against  Pulaski, 
Tennessee,  but  was  foiled.  He  then  moved  against  the  Chat 
tanooga  and  Nashville  Railroad,  Sherman's  principal  line 
of  supply,  breaking  it  at  Tullahoma  and  Decherd.  On 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  295 

the  30th,  Buford,  with  a  division  of  Forrest's  command, 
appeared  before  Himtsville,  and  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  garrison,  but  meeting  with  a  denial,  after  linger 
ing  in  that  neighborhood  for  several  days,  he  withdrew 
towards  Athens,  which  had  been  regarrisoned,  and  on  the 
afternoon  of  October  1st,  and  the  morning  of  the  2d,  he 
attacked  the  defences  of  the  place,  meeting  with  a  bloody  re 
pulse.  Another  part  of.  Forrest's  command  moved  northward 
to  Columbia  and  Mount  Pleasant.  By  this  time  the  Union 
commanders  in  Tennessee  had  succeeded  in  collecting  a  con 
siderable  force  and  with  them  drove  the  raiders  rapidly 
beyond  the  Tennessee. 

These  desultory,  but  vigorous  operations  on  the  part  of 
Forrest,  gave  both  Grant  and  Sherman  considerable  uneasi 
ness,  although  they  were  of  a  character  which  gave  promise  of 
greater  damage  than  was  actually  inflicted  upon  the  national 
cause.  Had  Forrest  fully  appreciated  his  power,  and  the  fa 
cility  with  which  he  might  have  reached  the  single  line  of  rail 
way  at  almost  any  point  south  of  Chattanooga,  he  could  have 
crippled  Sherman  most  seriously  if  he  had  not  suspended  his 
operations  entirely.  Had  the  rebel  President  directed  the 
union  of  Forrest's  cavalry  with  Wheeler's,  and  authorized 
Johnston  or  Hood  to  use  these  forces,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  Sherman  with  his  deficiency  in  cavalry  could  have  pos 
sibly  maintained  his  long  lines  of  communication  for  a  single 
day,  instead  of  four  months.  Such  a  consolidation  of  com 
mands  would  have  given  the  rebels  a  force  of  not  less  than 
15,000  horse,  which  in  skillful  hands  could  have  gone  almost 
anywhere  within  the  theatre  of  operations.  Sherman's  cav 
alry,  during  this  entire  campaign,  was  scattered  from  Mem 
phis  to  Knoxville,  and  from  Louisville  to  Central  Georgia, 
the  force  with  the  army  rarely  ever  exceeding  7000  men  for 
duty.  Having  no  distinct  organization  except  such  as  was 
given  it  by  the  different  army  commanders,  it  could  not  have 
made  head  for  a  single  day  against  the  rebels.  Grant  per 
ceiving  this,  as  well  as  the  danger  which  Sherman  was  run 
ning,  and  having  learned  to  appreciate  the  full  value  of  an 


296  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

efficiently  organized  and  well  commanded  mounted  force,  he 
ordered  Sheridan  to  send  General  Wilson  from  Virginia,  to 
report  to  Sherman  with  ample  powers  to  collect,  reorganize 
and  bring  into  the  field  the  numerous  but  widely  scattered 
cavalry  regiments,  belonging  to  the  three  armies  of  the 
Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi.  Wilson  reported  at 
Gaylesville,  Alabama,  early  in  October,  and  after  con 
ferring  fully  with  General  Sherman,  was  assigned  to  duty 
as  Chief  of  Cavalry,  and  was  placed  in  unlimited  command 
over  all  the  cavalry  forces  in  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and 
Georgia,  amounting  to  seventy-two  regiments.  With  the 
hearty  concurrence  of  Sherman,  these  regiments  and  the 
divisions  into  which  they  had  been  previously  formed,  were 
withdrawn  from  the  control  of  the  army  commanders  under 
whom  they  had  previously  acted,  and  were  organized  into  a 
corps  consisting  of  seven  divisions  and  fifteen  brigades.  The 
best  officers  that  could  be  found  were  assigned  to  their 
command,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  concentrate,  re 
mount,  equip  and  properly  arm  this  formidable  force.  The 
success  which  attended  these  efforts  will  be  detailed  here 
after. 

Towards  the  last  of  August,  General  Grant  received  infor 
mation  that  General  Price  with  a  force  of  10,000  men  had 
reached  Jacksonport,  Arkansas,  on  his  way  to  invade  Mis 
souri,  then  under  the  command  of  General  Rosecrans.  The 
detachment  of  the  Sixteenth  corps  which  had  been  operating 
under  A.  J.  Smith  in  Louisiana  and  Northern  Mississippi, 
was  then  en  route  from  Memphis  to  join  Sherman.  It  was 
ordered  to  Missouri ;  a  brigade  of  cavalry  under  Colonel 
(afterwards  Brigadier-General)  E.  F.  Winslow,  was,  also 
ordered  to  accompany  Smith.  These  forces,  it  was  thought, 
would  give  Rosecrans  such  a  preponderance,  as  would  enable 
him  to  destroy  Price's  army,  or,  at  least,  to  drive  it  back, 
while  the  troops  under  Steele  in  Arkansas  would  attack  it  in 
rear  and  cut  off  its  retreat.  On  the  26th  of  September, 
Price  attacked  Pilot  Knob  and  compelled  the  garrison  to  re 
treat  towards  St.  Louis.  He  then  turned  northward,  march- 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  297 

ing  rapidly  along  the  Missouri  River  towards  the  Kansas 
border.  General  Curtis  commanding  the  Department  of  Kan 
sas,  immediately  collected  the  forces  within  his  reach,  and  pre 
pared  to  repel  the  invasion  by  which  he  was  threatened,  while 
Rosecrans'  cavalry,  under  Pleasanton,  was  operating  in  Price's 
rear.  The  enemy  made  a  stand  on  the  Big  Blue  River,  where 
he  was  attacked  and  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  all  his 
artillery  and  trains,  together  with  many  prisoners,  after  which 
he  retreated  precipitately  to  Northern  Arkansas.  General 
Grant,  in  his  official  report  of  this  year's  operations,  aptly 
says:  "The  impunity  with  which  Price  was  enabled  to  roam 
over  the  State  of  Missouri  for  a  long  time,  and  the  incalcu 
lable  mischief  done  by  him,  show  to  how  little  purpose  a 
superior  force  may  be  used.  There  is  na  reason  why  General 
Rosecrans  should  not  have  concentrated  his  forces  and  beaten 
and  driven  Price,  before  the  latter  reached  Pilot  Knob." 

As  soon  as  General  Grant  was  informed  of  the  defeat  of 
Banks  on  the  Red  River,  and  the  paralysis  of  Steele's  co 
operating  campaign  in  South-western  Arkansas,  he  directed 
General  Canby,  now  in  command  of  the  Military  Division  of 
the  West  Mississippi,  to  send  the  Nineteenth  corps  to  join  the 
armies  operating  against  Petersburg.  It  has  been  shown  that 
these  troops  reached  Hampton  Roads  just  in  time  to  be  sent 
to  Washington,  with  the  Sixth  corps,  and  thence  to  Sheridan 
in  the  Valley.  Canby  was  directed  "  to  limit  the  rest  of  his 
command  to  such  operations  as  might  be  necessary  to  hold  the 
positions  and  lines  of  communication  he  then  occupied." 

While  charged  with  the  conduct  of  operations  in  Virginia, 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  General  Grant  was  responsible 
for  the  general  plans,  as  well  as  for  the  unity  of  military 
policy  throughout  the  entire  country;  and  although  he  was 
ably  seconded  in  his  efforts  to  secure  efficiency  of  organi 
zation  at  all  points  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  unpro 
fessional  reader  will  scarcely  be  able  to  realize  the  extent  of 
the  personal  influence  which  he  exerted  by  correspondence 
and  otherwise  over  his  numerous  and  widely  separated  sub 
ordinates,  nor  to  appreciate  the  continued  anxiety  which  he 


298  LIFE  OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

was  compelled  to  undergo,  throughout  the  entire  period  in 
which  he  held  the  supreme  command.  His  correspondence 
during  this  period  took  the  widest  possible  range,  embracing 
all  subjects  connected  with  the  conduct  of  the  war,  the  move 
ment,  supply,  support,  equipment  and  organization  of  armies  ; 
his  influence  was  everywhere  felt,  and  always  beneficially. 
While  the  people  desponded,  and  gold  rose  steadily  in  value, 
he  remained  constant  in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  and 
confident  of  the  result.  The  policy  of  concentration,  coupled 
with  that  of  vigorous  action,  which  he  introduced,  as  well  as 
the  combinations  which  he  made,  were  characterized  by  a 
grandeur  of  conception,  and  controlled  by  public  considera 
tions  of  the  highest  importance.  His  aim  was  to  use  every 
resource  and  every  armed  ,man  of  the  country  for  some 
effective  purpose.  The  armies  were  no  longer  permitted  to 
act  independently,  but  were  compelled  thenceforth  to  move  in 
concert  over  a  vast  extent  of  country,  without  regard  to  time 
or  seasons.  Under  the  relentless  policy  of  the  Lieutenant- 
General,  the  plan  of  going  into  winter  quarters  had  been 
practiced  for  the  last  time,  and  ceaseless  activity  was  hence 
forth  to  be  the  rule.  It  was  no  longer  feared  that  the  rebels 
could  be  exasperated  to  a  higher  degree  of  hatred  than  they 
had  already  shown  for  the  flag  of  their  fathers.  Blow  fol 
lowed  blow  in  quick  succession ;  their  lines  of  supply  and 
communications  were  wrested  from  them ;  their  food-produc 
ing  regions  were  occupied;  their  railroads,  store-houses, 
arsenals,  foundries,  mills  and  ship-yards,  were  destroyed; 
their  substance  was  consumed,  and  their  armies  were  met  at 
every  vital  point  with  a  courage  and  efficiency  hitherto 
unknown.  All  the  time  moving,  and  all  the  time  drawing 
his  lines  closer  about  the  visible  force  which  upheld  the  re 
bellion,  the  General-in-Chief  knew  that  by  such  means  he 
must  ultimately  succeed  in  accomplishing  the  herculean  task 
which  had  been  imposed  upon  him.  He  therefore  resolutely 
held  his  way  onward,  feeling  that  victory  would  be  cheap 
at  any  price,  and  yet  exerting  himself  night  and  day  to  gain 
it  at  the  slightest  possible  cost  in  blood  and  treasure. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

STRENGTHENING  OF  THE  ENTRENCHMENTS  IN  FRONT  OF  PETERSBURG 
—  EARLY  RE-ENFORCED  IN  THE  VALLEY — UNSUCCESSFUL  MOVE 
MENTS  ON  THE  NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE  JAMES — MEADE  EXTENDS  HIS 
LEFT — WITHDRAWAL  OF  HANCOCK  FROM  THE  NORTH  SIDE — WAR- 
REN'S  MOVEMENT  TOWARDS  PETERSBURG — STRIKES  THE  WELDON 
RAILROAD  AND  FORTIFIES — REBELS  ATTACK  WARREN'S  LEFT — THE 
AFFAIR  AT  REAM'S  STATION — OPERATIONS  OF  THE  REBEL  CAVALRY 
— MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  JAMES,  UNDER  ORD — CAPTURE 
OF  FORTS  HARRISON  AND  MORRIS — BIRNEY  CAPTURES  NEW  MARKET 
HEIGHTS — ANOTHER  MOVEMENT  FOR  THE  EXTENSION  OF  THE  UNION 
LEFT — ITS  FAILURE — OBSERVATIONS — A  PERIOD  OF  INACTIVITY — 
ANOTHER  MOVEMENT  AGAINST  THE  SOUTH  SIDE  RAILROAD — HUM 
PHREYS  MARCHES  UPON  THE  REBEL  RIGHT — REBELS  ATTACK  CRAW 
FORD — HUMPHREYS  ENTRENCHED — REPELS  THE  ENEMY'S  ATTACKS 
— GRANT  ABANDONS  HIS  EFFORT  TO  REACH  THE  SOUTH  SIDE  RAIL 
ROAD — HIS  FUTURE  POLICY. 

DURING  the  entire  operations  in  the  Valley,  the  armies 
investing  Petersburg,  in  consequence  of  the  detachment  of 
the  Sixth  corps  and  the  most  of  the  cavalry,  were  held 
strictly  on  the  defensive.  The  greater  part  of  July  and 
much  of  August  were  spent  in  strengthening  the  entrench 
ments,  extending  now  from  the  Appomattox  east  of  Peters 
burg,  to  the  outer  flank,  resting  on  the  Jerusalem  plank-road. 
Extensive  and  well-constructed  siege  batteries,  and  redoubts 
were  constructed  on  the  commanding  points ;  siege  artillery 
was  brought  forward,  and  a  railroad  running  from  City  Point 
to  the  advanced  lines,  was  projected  for  the  purpose  of  keep 
ing  the  troops  supplied  with  rations  and  ammunition ;  it  was 
finished  on  the  12th  of  September. 


300  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  early  in  August  the  Lieu 
tenant-General  notified  Sheridan  that  Lee  had  detached  three 
divisions  of  infantry  and  one  of  cavalry  from  the  vicinity  of 
Petersburg,  for  the  purpose  of  re-enforcing  Early  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  Believing  this  information  to  be  sub 
stantially  correct,  Grant  determined  to  avail  himself  of  the 
opportunity  of  striking  a  blow  at  the  rebel  force  on  the  north 
side  of  the  James,  covering  Eichmond;  but  knowing  that 
such  an  intention  could  not  be  long  concealed,  after  the 
troops,  who  were  to  carry  it  into  effect,  should  begin  their 
march,  he  decided  to  send  Gregg's  cavalry  and  the  requisite 
artillery  by  the  pontoon  bridge,  quietly  across  the  river,  and 
to  embark  Hancock's  corps  on  board  the  transports  at  City 
Point,  as  though  he  intended  to  send  it  to  Washington. 
This  was  done  on  the  12th  of  August,  and  the  fleet  steamed 
up  to  Deep  Bottom,  where  Foster's  brigade  still  held  an  en 
trenched  position,  and  although  much  difficulty  was  experi 
enced  in  landing  the  troops  owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the 
water  near  the  shore,  the  debarkation  was  made  by  nine 
o'clock  on  the  next  day.  Hancock  marched  without  delay 
by  two  roads  leading  towards  Eichmond,  but  encountered 
no  resistance  uritil  he  reached  Bailey's  Creek.  Advancing 
Mott's  division  towards  the  rebel  lines  which  lay  beyond,  he 
sent  Barlow  to  the  right  with  two  divisions  for  the  purpose 
of  turning  the  rebel  left. 

Barlow,  however,  instead  of  keeping  his  force  well  in  hand, 
in  compact  order,  undertook  to  make  his  movement,  by  string 
ing  out  his  troops  and  keeping  up  the  connection  with  Mott ; 
the  consequence  was,  that  his  formation  was  too  attenuated  to 
be  effective,  and  hence  the  entire  day  was  lost  without  gain 
ing  any  substantial  advantage.  Birney,  still  further  to  the 
right,  on  the  north  of  Bailey's  Creek,  succeeded  in  breaking 
through  the  hostile  force  in  front  of  Barlow.  Birney  captured 
six  guns  and  several  hundred  prisoners,  but  darkness  inter 
vening  soon  after,  he  was  compelled  to  suspend  his  advance. 
It  is  quite  certain  that  when  this  movement  began,  the  rebel 
force  on  the  north  side  of  the  James  did  not  much  exceed 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  301 

8000  men,  but  during  the  night  of  the  13th,  Lee  perceiving 
his  peril,  recalled  a  part  of  the  force  sent  to  Early,  and  rap 
idly  re-enforced  his  left  wing.  By  morning  it  was  certain 
that  all  the  advantages  of  the  surprise  had  been  lost,  and  that 
nothing  could  be  gained  except  by  hard  fighting  or  through 
some  unexpected  stroke  of  good  fortune.  Hancock,  however, 
made  a  new  disposition  of  his  forces,  and  sent  Birney  to  find 
the  left  of  the  enemy's  line,  while  Gregg,  with  the  cavalry, 
was  directed  to  conform  to  Birney's  movement;  but  the 
enemy's  works  had  no  left  flank  short  of  Richmond,  and 
hence  nothing  was  done.  The  movement  was  now  com 
pletely  checkmated,  so  far  as  any  chance  of  success  was  con 
cerned.  On  the  16th,  Birney  and  Terry  were  directed  to 
make  a  direct  attack  upon  the  enemy's  works,  which  was  done 
in  handsome  style,  and  resulted  in  breaking  the  rebel  line, 
with  the  capture  of  several  hundred  prisoners.  The  success 
was,  however,  short-lived.  The  rebels  soon  rallied,  and  after 
a  sharp  fight  regained  their  lost  position.  Gregg  supported 
by  a  brigade  of  infantry  under  General  Miles,  at  the  same 
time,  made  a  handsome  and  spirited  advance  along  the  Charles 
City  road,  driving  the  enemy  before  him  for  some  distance, 
killing  General  Chambliss  and  taking  a  number  of  prisoners. 
But  Birney's  attack  having  been  suspended,  the  rebels  con 
centrated  against  Gregg,  and  drove  him  after  severe  fighting 
beyond  Deep  Creek. 

During  the  night  of  the  16th,  a  fleet  of  transports  was  sent 
up  to  Deep  Bottom,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of  withdraw 
ing  the  troops,  but  really  in  the  hopes  that  the  rebels  would 
believe  this  to  be  the  case,  and  sally  out  from  their  works, 
thus  giving  Hancock  another  opportunity  to  get  at  them. 
But  the  ruse  did  not  succeed.  The  four  succeeding  days 
were  passed  in  rcconnoisances  and  skirmishing,  but  without 
any  hard  fighting,  except  on  the  evening  of  the  28th,  at 
which  time  the  rebels  made  a  vigorous  attack  upon  Birney's 
works,  but  met  with  a  bloody  repulse. 

Grant  now  determined  to  turn  his  operations  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  into  good  account  elsewhere.  Seeing  that 


302  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

Lee  had  weakened  his  right,  covering  the  railroads  south  of 
Petersburg,  the  Lieutenant-General  directed  Meade  to  ex 
tend  his  left  flank  rapidly,  and  strike  the  Weldon  Railroad, 
withdrawing  Hancock  to  his  old  camps  in  front  of  the  city. 
"Warren  was  charged  with  the  new  operation,  and  began  it 
on  the  morning  of  the  18th;  and  marching  by  the  most 
direct  line,  he  struck  the  railroad  by  noon,  planting  his  corps 
firmly  across  it.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  met  with  no  oppo 
sition,  but  pushing  forward  in  the  direction  of  Petersburg 
something  like  a  mile,  he  found  the  enemy  well  posted  and 
showing  a  disposition  to  resist  further  progress.  Warren 
had  left  Griffin's  division  at  the  point  where  he  first  struck 
the  road,  and  had  formed  the  divisions  of  Ayres  and  Craw 
ford  in  line  of  battle  to  the  front.  In  this  order  he  had  pre 
pared  to  advance  to  the  attack,  when  his  left  was  suddenly 
assailed  by  the  rebels,  marching  by  the  Vaughan  road.  The 
left  brigade  recoiled  in  some  confusion,  but  Ayres,  a  cool  and 
practiced  soldier,  refused  his  line  so  as  to  conform  to  the 
rebel  advance,  and  delivering  rapid  discharges  of  musketry 
and  artillery,  checked  the  rebel  onset ;  but  not  until  we  had 
lost  a  thousand  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  In 
executing  this  movement,  Warren  had  necessarily  been  com 
pelled  to  separate  himself  from  the  rest  of  the  army,  and 
fearing  that  the  rebel  leader  would  discover  the  gap  and 
thrust  a  force  into  it,  thus  isolating  his  position,  he  ordered 
General  Bragg,  one  of  his  brigade-commanders,  to  deploy  his 
brigade  as  skirmishers  on  the  shortest  line  connecting  the 
right  of  the  Fifth  corps  with  the  left  of  the  army  near  the 
Jerusalem  plank-road. 

This  order  had  not  been  obeyed,  when  the  rebels  taking 
the  offensive,  broke  through  the  interval,  turning  the  right 
of  Crawford's  division,  and  sweeping  rapidly  towards  War 
ren's  left,  captured  2500  prisoners,  including  General  Hays, 
and  compelled  the  whole  line  to  fall  back.  Just  at  the  most 
critical  moment,  the  divisions  of  White  and  Wilcox  belong 
ing  to  the  Ninth  corps  reached  the  ground  and  moving  for 
ward  at  once,  struck  the  rebels  in  flank.  Warren,  with  great 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  303 

spirit,  pushed  his  own  men  also  to  the  front  at  the  same  time. 
The  rebels  were  driven  rapidly  back  in  great  confusion  to 
their  own  entrenchments.  Warren  now  strengthened  his  for 
tifications  and  arranged  them  for  artillery.  At  this  stage  of 
the  war,  the  troops  never  halted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
enemy  without  fortffying  their  front;  and  even  if  brought 
unexpectedly  into  action,  the  slightest  cessation  of  fighting 
was  devoted  to  the  construction  of  rail  or  log  entrenchments. 
The  men  had  become  such  adepts  in  the  art  of  providing 
cover  for  themselves  that  under  the  most  disadvantageous 
circumstances  they  were  never  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed.  In 
twenty  minutes  or  a  half  hour,  they  could  render  their  posi 
tion  impregnable  against  a  direct  attack.  The  method  pur 
sued  was,  after  selecting  the  most  favorable  ground  for  the 
line  along  a  fence,  row,  ridge  or  skirt  of  wood,  to  fell  trees, 
pile  them  into  rows,  and  then  cover  them  rapidly  with  a  few 
inches  of  earth.  Such  breastworks,  slight  as  they  may 
seem,  were  found  to  be  ample  protection  against  musketry, 
even  at  the  closest  range. 

During  the  night  of  the  21st,  the  rebel  General  massed  a 
force  in  Warren's  front,  and  at  early  dawn  opened  a  cross-fire 
upon  his  position  with  thirty  guns.  This  was  kept  up  for  an 
hour  or  more,  and  was  then  followed  by  a  direct  attack  com 
bined  with  a  turning  movement  against  the  left  flank  of  the 
Fifth  corps.  But  Warren's  dispositions  were  admirable,  and 
although  the  rebel  onset  was  made  with  unusual  vehemence, 
it  was  readily  repulsed,  costing  him  a  large  number  in  killed 
and  wounded,  besides  500  prisoners.  Warren's  loss  from 
the  beginning  of  his  movement  amounted  to  4,455  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  but  the  advantages  gained  were  im 
portant  in  the  highest  degree,  as  they  rendered  bis  tenure  of 
the  railroad  entirely  stable. 

In  the  meantime,  Hancock  had  returned  from  the  north 
side  of  the  James,  whereupon  Grant  ordered  him  on  the  21st, 
to  move  to  the  railroad  at  Keam's  Station,  in  rear  of  War 
ren's  position,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  railroad 
southward  towards  the  Notaway  River.  Gregg's  division 


304  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

of  cavalry  was  thrown  well  out  towards  Dinnwiddie  Court 
House.  Hancock  executed  his  orders  promptly  and  without 
serious  trouble,  breaking  up  the  road  as  far  as  Rowanty 
Creek,  where  Gibbon's  division  was  engaged  in  continuing 
the  destruction  when  Gregg  reported  the  rebels  approaching 
in  considerable  force. 

Hancock  therefore  concentrated  his  troops  within  the  forti 
fications  which  had  been  constructed  at  Ream's  Station  some 
time  before  by  another  corps,  and  had  not  long  to  wait  when 
the  enemy,  under  A.  P.  Hill,  fell  upon  him  with  great  fury. 
Two  attacks  were  made  in  rapid  succession,  principally  upon 
Miller's  division,  when  a  lull  took  place,  during  which,  Hill 
put  his  artillery  in  position  and  formed  Heth's  division, 
with  the  view  of  carrying  Hancock's  lines,  at  whatever  cost. 
When  his  arrangements  were  completed  he  opened  a  con 
verging  and  severe  fire  upon  the  national  works,  under  cover 
of  which,  his  columns  again  advanced;  this  time  sweeping 
everything  before  them.  Hancock  had  only  a  small  force  in 
reserve,  but  could  not  induce  it  to  throw  itself  into  the 
breach.  Gibbon  was  then  ordered  to  re-establish  the  line 
and  retake  the  three  batteries  which  had  been  lost,  but  his 
men  responded  with  neither  alacrity  nor  vigor.  Miles,  how 
ever,  succeeded  in  rallying  one  of  his  own  regiments  and 
leading  it  in  person  gallantly  to  the  charge,  retook  one  bat 
tery  and  recovered  the  most  of  the  line.  By  this  time,  the 
enemy's  dismounted  troopers  advanced  against  Gibbon's  divis 
ion,  and  meeting  with  but  slight  resistance  drove  it  easily 
from  the  works.  Attempting  to  follow  up  the  success,  they 
were  caught  in  flank  by  Gregg,  and  in  turn,  compelled  to  fall 
back.  Hancock's  troops,  upon  this  occasion,  seem  to  have 
behaved  with  nothing  like  their  accustomed  spirit,  for 
although  their  position  was  an  exposed  one,  they  should 
have  held  it  easily  against  the  assaults  made  upon  them. 
Hancock  had  sent  for  aid,  but  for  some  reason  not  suffi 
ciently  explained  none  reached  him.  Meade,  to  whom  the 
details  of  such  matters  was  entrusted,  ordered  Mott's  divis 
ion  of  the  Second,  and  Wilcox's  of  the  Ninth,  to  march 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  305 

towards  Ream's  Station,  but  instead  of  sending  them  by  the 
railroad,  they  were  sent  by  a  roundabout  road,  double  the 
distance  that  they  would  have  had  to  march  by  the  most 
direct  route.*  The  affair  at  Ream's  Station,  cost  us  5  guns, 
and  2,500  men,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  and  the  rebels 
nearly  2,000.  It  is  noted  as  being  one  of  the  few  instances 
during  the  campaign,  in  which  either  party  succeeded  in  car 
rying  lines  of  rifle-trench  and  breastwork  by  a  direct  attack. 
After  nightfall,  Hancock,  who  had  fortified  a  new  line  near 
the  station,  abandoned  his  works  and  rejoined  the  army. 
Warren,  in  the  meantime,  had  made  his  position  impreg 
nable,  and  had  connected  it  with  the  investing  lines  by  a 
well  established  system  of  redoubts.  A  cessation  of  active 
hostilities  for  nearly  a  month  followed  the  severe  struggle  for 
the  railroad,  during  which,  the  rebel  General  sent  a  cavalry 
force  around  the  left  flank  of  the  national  army,  and  by  a 
rapid  concentration  on  a  weak  part  of  Gregg's  long  line  of 
cavalry  pickets,  broke  through,  penetrating  to  the  grazing 
grounds  near  Coggin's  Point,  and  succeeded  in  driving  off  a 
herd  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  beef  cattle,  before  Gregg 
could  concentrate  a  sufficient  force  to  prevent  it. 

Active  operations  were  renewed  on  the  28th  of  September, 
by  a  strong  demonstration  from  the  Army  of  the  James 
against  the  rebel  works  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  This 
movement  was  entrusted  to  Ord,  who  had  succeeded  Smith 
in  command  of  the  Eighteenth  corps  supported  by  Birney 
with  the  Tenth  corps,  and  Kautz's  division  of  cavalry.  The 
object  of  this  movement  was  two-fold, — to  surprise  that  part 
of  Lee's  lines,  and  to  cause  him  to  weaken  his  right  so  that 
the  national  left  might  be  again  extended.  The  troops  des 
ignated  withdrew  from  their  regular  camps,  and  on  the  night 
of  the  28th  crossed  by  the  pontoon  bridge  to  Deep  Bottom, 
from  which  place  they  pushed  promptly  forward  early  the 
next  morning ;  the  Eighteenth  corps  on  the  left,  the  Tenth  in 
the  center,  and  the  cavalry  covering  the  right,  directing  their 
march  on  Chapin's  Farm  covered  by  Fort  Harrison  and  Fort 

*  "  Swinton's  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  p.  588. 
20 


306  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

Morris.  These  entrenchments  with  sixteen  guns  were  car 
ried,  but  in  pushing  forward  his  victorious  troops  Ord  was 
wounded,  and  compelled  to  turn  the  command  over  to  Gen 
eral  Weitzel.  Birney  captured  New  Market  Heights,  and 
Kautz  pushed  by  the  right  flank  to  within  three  miles  of 
Richmond ;  but  Fort  Gillmer,  a  strong  work  next  to  Fort 
Harrison,  was  so  well  defended  that  every  effort  to  carry 
it  was  foiled.  This  necessarily  checked  the  advance,  and 
darkness  suspended  it  entirely.  The  next  morning  the  rebels 
having  been  re-enforced  during  the  night,  determined  to  re 
take  their  lost  works ;  and  under  the  direction  of  Field,  Hoke 
and  Gregg,  assaulted  Fort  Harrison  on  three  sides,  but  timing 
their  advance  poorly  they  were  easily  repelled,  suffering 
heavy  loss.  A  few  days  later  they  advanced  against  Kautz 
on  the  Charles  City  road,  and  after  a  sharp  fight  drove  him 
back  close  to  the  river,  capturing  9  guns  and  500  prisoners, 
but  losing  General  Gregg,  of  Texas,  in  the  combat.  Butler 
now  devoted  himself  to  strengthening  his  new  fortifications, 
and  soon  put  them  into  condition  to  defy  capture  by  assault 
or  coup  de  main.  These  successes  on  the  north  side  of  the 
James  had  greatly  inspirited  the  army,  and  as  they  threatened 
Richmond  with  much  more  serious  danger  than  at  any  time 
previous,  Lee  lost  no  time  in  throwing  re-enforcements  in  that 
direction  for  its  protection. 

Meanwhile  Grant  caused  Warren  to  make  a  strong  exten 
sion  of  his  left,  now  resting  at  a  point  two  miles  west  of  the 
Weldon  Railroad,  still  farther  towards  the  Southside  Rail 
road.  Re-enforced  by  two  divisions  of  the  Ninth  corps,  now 
under  Parke,  Warren  moved  with  four  divisions  of  infantry 
and  Gregg's  cavalry,  directly  towards  Poplar  Spring  Church 
and  Peeble's  Farm,  while  Hancock  was  to  march  further  to 
the  rear,  and  under  cover  of  Warren's  movement,  cross 
Hatcher's  Run,  to  the  Boydton  plank-road,  from  which  he 
was  expected  to  advance  and  seize  the  Southside  Road.  In 
pursuance  of  this  plan,  the  movement  began,  on  the  morning 
of  the  27th  of  September,  but  had  not  proceeded  more  than 
two  and  a  half  or  three  miles  before  the  enemy  was  found 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  307 

occupying  a  strongly  entrenched  line  resting  on  Hatcher's 
Run.  It  was  found  in  a  short  time  that  this  position  could 
not  be  forced  by  a  direct  attack,  and  as  had  been  previously 
arranged,  Warren  prepared  to  cross  Hatcher's  Run  and  force 
the  rebels  out  by  an  attack  in  flank  and  rear.  Hancock 
marching  to  the  south-west  by  the  Vaughan  road,  struck  the 
river  lower  down,  crossed  it  and  pushed  forward  by  Dabney's 
Mill,  covered  by  Gregg's  cavalry,  to  the  Boydton  road, 
where  he  intended  to  turn  northward,  following  the  road 
towards  Petersburg  as  far  as  the  White  Oak  Bridge,  from 
which  point,  if  reached,  he  was  to  march  directly  towards 
the  Southside  Eoad  only  about  four  miles  distant.  Shortly 
after  striking  the  Boydton  road,  however,  he  was  directed  by 
Meade  to  halt,  on  the  ground  that  Parke  had  not  been  able 
to  carry  the  works  north  of  the  run.  As  soon  as  Parke's 
assault  had  failed,  Warren  threw  Crawford's  division  and 
Ayres'  brigade  to  the  south  side  of  Hatcher's  Run  and 
directed  them  to  move  up  the  run,  with  the  right  of  the 
advancing  line  resting  on  it  while  the  left  should  be  extended 
well  out  to  connect  with  Hancock,  now  between  four  and 
five  miles  away. 

Crawford  pushed  through  the  pine  forest  bordering  the 
run,  with  great  difficulty.  There  being  no  roads,  the  troops 
became  much  scattered  and  some  of  them  entirely  lost,  but 
after  three  hours  of  hard  work,  they  reached  a  position  oppo 
site  to  the- end  of  the  rebel  entrenchments,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  run.  Now  was  the  time  to  press  the  movement  with 
the  greatest  vigor,  but  Warren,  finding  the  country  entirely 
different  from  what  it  had  been  represented  as  being,  assumed 
the  liberty  of  suspending  his  own  advance,  while  he  re- 
p6rted  to  Meade  for  further  orders.  The  rebels,  in  the  mean 
time,  were  not  idle,  but  discerning  with  admirable  judgment, 
the  object  of  Grant's  movement,  and  the  probable  course  that 
it  would  take,  Lee  withdrew  a  force  from  his  entrenchments 
towards  the  Boydton  road,  for  the  purpose  of  falling  upon  the 
forces  already  across  Hatcher's  Run.  The  interval  which 
now  separated  Crawford  and  Hancock,  was  reduced  to  a 


308  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

little  more  than  a  mile.  The  latter  having  been  notified  by 
Meade  of  Crawford's  position,  deployed  two  brigades  of  Gib 
bon's  division,  (temporarily  commanded  by  General  Egan,) 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  connection  between  the  two 
forces,  but  this  was  not  accomplished.  Lee's  plan  seems  to 
have  been  to  attack  Hancock's  outer  flank,  but  by  a  piece 
of  good  fortune  or  good  management,  he  changed  his  mind, 
and  in  throwing  Hill's  corps  across  the  run,  gave  it  such  a 
direction  as  to  bring  it  abreast  of  the  unoccupied  interval 
between  Hancock's  right  and  Crawford's  left,  but  bearing 
more  directly  upon  the  flank  of  Mott's  division.  The  rebel 
leader  was  ignorant  of  his  great  advantage,  as  he  could  see 
only  a  few  rods  through  the  tangled  growth  of  scrub  pines. 
But  advancing  to  the  attack  about  four  o'clock  P.  M.,  he 
pushed  through  the  interval,  striking  Mott's  right  brigade, 
which  it  swept  back,  capturing  a  section  of  artillery. 

The  next  division  of  Hancock's  corps,  under  Egan,  now 
changed  front,  facing  to  the  southward,  and  advanced  to 
attack  the  rebels  in  flank,  supported  on  the  one  hand  by 
McAlister's  brigade  of  Mott's  division,  and  on  the  other  by 
De  Trobriand's  and  Kerwin's  brigades.  This  unexpected 
onset  was  too  much  for  the  rebels,  who  broke  at  once  and 
fled  in  the  direction  from  which  they  had  come,  leaving  their 
two  captured  guns,  with  over  a  thousand  prisoners  in  our 
hands.  Had  Crawford  advanced  at  the  same  time,  as  he 
should  have  done  even  without  orders,  Hill's  corps  must 
have  been  entirely  routed.  The  action  had  nearly  ended  on 
the  right,  when  Gregg,  covering  the  left,  was  violently 
assailed  by  Hampton  with  five  brigades  of  cavalry.  Han 
cock  promptly  re-enforced  him  and  thus  enabled  him  to  hold 
his  own  lines  and  drive  Hampton  back,  but  not  till  night  had 
rendered  pursuit  entirely  out  of  the  question  in  that  region 
of  gloom  and  thick  darkness.  Ammunition  having  been 
exhausted,  the  general  movement  was  suspended  and  the 
troops  withdrawn  to  their  old  camps  during  the  night. 

The  failure  of  this  day's  operations,  as  usual,  has  been 
ascribed  to  the  faults  of  the  plan  itself,  but  the  candid  reader 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  309 

cannot  fail  to  perceive  that  the  movement  was  in  the  full  tide 
of  successful  execution  when  Warren  stopped  Crawford,  and 
Meade  stopped  Hancock.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
this  cessation  of  operations  could  not  have  been  made  at  a 
more  inopportune  time ;  for  had  it  been  continued  an  hour 
longer  Hancock  and  Warren  must  have  established  connec 
tion  between  their  lines,  and  holding  a  strong  position  along 
the  south  side  of  Hatcher's  Run,  or  vigorously  assailing  the 
rear  of  the  rebel  line,  on  the  north  side  of  it,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  how  the  result  could  have  been  less  fortunate  than  it  was 
and  easy  to  perceive  how  it  might  have  been  made  a  perfect 
success.  In  a  majority  of  cases  the  leader  who  stops  to 
deliberate,  even  in  the  presence  of  an  unexpected  danger, 
after  a  movement  has  been  carefully  matured  and  judiciously 
inaugurated,  will  bring  upon  himself  misfortune  and  disaster 
if  not  absolute  defeat.  The  best  way  under  such  circum 
stances,  is  to  press  forward  with  increased  ardor  and  energy, 
or  to  relinquish  his  plan  without  a  moment's  delay.  There  is 
no  axiom  in  warfare  more  truthful  than  this :  "  Prudence  is 
the  virtue  of  prosperity  ;  audacity  that  of  great  emergencies." 

A  long  period  of  comparative  inactivity  now  intervened, 
lasting  till  the  spring  of  1865,  during  which,  however,  no 
opportunity  was  lost,  to  annoy  the  enemy,  by  striking  at  his 
weak  points,  and  menacing  his  exposed  lines  of  communica 
tion.  The  armies  before  Petersburg  were  allowed  to  build 
huts  and  make  themselves  as  comfortable  as  circumstances 
would  permit,  but  unusual  care  was  taken  to  keep  them 
constantly  on  the  alert.  The  investing  fortifications  were 
strengthened,  and  by  the  7th  of  February,  had  been  extended 
to  Hatcher's  Hun,  while  the  Weldon  Railroad  was  destroyed 
as  far  south  as  Hick's  Ford  on  the  Meherrin  River.  Lee  studi 
ously  maintained  his  defensive  attitude.  The  new  extension 
of  our  lines  was  preceded  by  a  renewal  of  the  effort  to  reach 
and  turn  the  rebel  right,  but  for  several  days  before  it  began, 
a  heavy  bombardment  from  all  the  artillery  was  kept  up,  so 
as  to  distract  the  enemy's  attention. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  Warren  with  the  Fifth  corps, 


310  LIFE    OP    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

supported  by  Major-General  Humphreys  who  had  succeeded 
Hancock  in  the  command  of  the  Second  corps,  began  the 
new  turning  movement.  Humphreys  was  directed  to  march 
upon  the  right  of  the  rebel  works  resting  on  Hatcher's  Run, 
while  Warren,  preceded  by  Gregg's  cavalry  division,  was 
ordered  to  cross  the  run,  and  fall  on  the  rebel  rear.  Hum 
phreys  with  two  divisions  marched  down  the  Vaughan  road, 
reached  the  run  without  any  material  difficulty,  and  finding 
only  a  small  force  of  rebels  on  the  opposite  side,  he  pushed 
De  Trobriand's  brigade  across,  dislodging  the  enemy  and 
driving  him  back.  Smith's  division  closed  upon  the  rebel 
works,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  its  right  wing  was  vigorously 
assailed,  but  succeeded,  by  the  aid  of  McAlister's  brigade,  in 
holding  its  ground.  Gregg  and  Warren  marched  out  the 
Halifax  road,  and  crossed  Rowanty  Creek,  the  former  reach 
ing  Dinnwiddie  Court  House,  while  the  latter  went  into 
"position  himself  on  the  prolongation  of  Humphreys'  lines 
now  well  established. 

The  next  day  Wright's  and  Parke's  corps  were  also  moved 
westward,  to  support  the  exposed  flank.  The  country  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  streams  being  miry  and  everywhere 
densely  covered  with  undergrowth,  the  troops  could  not  get 
forward  with  rapidity — Gregg,  who  had  returned  to  the  left 
of  the  infantry  was  compelled  to  build  corduroy,  while 
Crawford  was  sent  by  the  way  of  Dabney 's  Mill  to  occupy 
the  Boydton  road.  At  Dabney's  he  met  Pegram's  rebel 
division  advancing  from  the  opposite  direction  to  the  same 
point.  A  sanguinary  combat  ensued  which  resulted  in 
Crawford's  success.  Pegram  was  driven  back,  but  being 
strongly  re-enforced  returned  to  the  attack.  Ayres'  division 
was  sent,  and  then  Wheaton's  to  strengthen  Crawford,  but 
before  these  forces  could  be  united,  a  rebel  turning  column 
moving  by  the  Vaughan  road,  fell  upon  Gregg  and  then 
upon  Ayres  while  another  force  attacked  Crawford  in  front. 
In  a  short  time  the  national  left  was  completely  overthrown, 
but  falling  back  rapidly  to  Humphreys'  position,  it  reformed 
behind  his  work?,  while  the  exultant  rebels  pushed  heedlessly 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  811 

forward  expecting  to  complete  their  victory.  Humphreys 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  entrench  himself  strongly  and 
thereby  repelled  the  vigorous  but  irregular  attack  with  great 
ease.  The  Union  loss  in  these  operations  was  about  2,000 
men,  and  that  of  the  rebels  quite  as  great  including  General 
Pegram. 

This  operation  put  an  end  to  the  effort  of  reaching  the 
Southside  Road  by  successive  extensions  of  the  Union  lines. 
In  this  respect  it  was  probably  a  blessing  in  disguise ;  for 
it  ultimately  forced  Grant  to  adopt  the  policy  of  swinging 
boldly  into  the  interior  with  a  force  sufficiently  powerful  to 
make  head  against  any  probable  opposition.  This  policy  he 
had  constantly  favored,  but  was  prevented  from  carrying  it 
into  effect  by  a  great  variety  of  circumstances,  but  princi 
pally  by  the  desire  not  to  resort  to  such  a  measure  till  he 
had  concentrated  all  his  available  forces  and  could  count  upon 
good  roads.  The  complete  destruction  of  the  Weldon  Rail 
road  to  Hick's  Ford  by  Warren  in  December,  forced  Lee  to 
discontinue  his  line  of  wagon  communication  between  the 
northern  end  of  that  road  and  Petersburg,  and  thereby  ren 
dered  it  still  more  difficult  for  him  to  keep  his  army  properly 
supplied. 

The  siege  of  Petersburg,  which  was  neither  a  siege  nor 
investment,  but  a  continual  menace,  was  now  drawing  rapidly 
to  a  close ;  but  before  proceeding  to  a  description  of  the 
events  which  followed,  it  is  necessary  to  turn  for  awhile  to 
military  operations  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE  MARCH  TO  THE  SEA — ITS  ORIGIN — HOOD'S  MOVEMENT  NORTH  OF 
ATLANTA — GRANT  SUSPECTS  HIS  INTENTIONS — HIS  CONFIDENCE  IN 
SHERMAN'S  DISPOSITIONS — JEFF.  DAVIS'  VISIT  TO  GEORGIA  —  HIS 

SPEECH — HOOD  MARCHES  NORTHWARD — TEARS  UP  THE  RAILROAD 
AT  BIG  SHANTY — SHERMAN  PUSHES  AFTER  HOOD — THE  ATTACK 
UPON  ALLATOONA — SHERMAN  THREATENS  THE  ENEMY'S  REAR — 
HOOD  CAPTURES  THE  GARRISON  AT  DALTON — HOWARD  ATTACKS 
HOOD  AT  SNAKE  CREEK — WILSON  SENT  TO  NASHVILLE — DETAILS  — 
SHERMAN  CONCENTRATES  AT  ATLANTA — EXPULSION  OF  THE  INHAB 
ITANTS — DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  TOWN — FORWARD  TO  THE  SEA — 
ORDER  OF  THE  MARCH  —  FORAGING  —  GEORGIA  MILITIA — KILPAT- 
RICK'S  DASH  ON  MACON — SKIRMISH  AT  GORDON — ENGAGEMENT 

WITH  WHEELER'S  CAVALRY — THE  ARRIVAL  BEFORE  SAVANNAH — 
PREPARATIONS  FOR  ITS  INVESTMENT — CAPTURE  OF  FORT  M'ALLIS- 
TER  —  SHERMAN  MEETS  ADMIRAL  DAHLGREN  —  EVACUATION  OF 
SAVANNAH — SHERMAN  ANNOUNCES  HIS  SUCCESS  TO  THE  PRESI 
DENT —  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  SHERMAN'S  MARCH — THE  REBEL 
MISTAKE — JOHNSTON  REINSTATED. 

IT  has  already  been  stated  that,  so  far  as  known,  the 
march  to  the  sea  had  its  origin  in  the  idea  originally  dis 
cussed  at  General  Grant's  head-quarters  at  Nashville,  in 
January,  1864,  and  this  view  of  the  case  is  borne  out  by 
the  following  despatch,  sent  by  the  Lieutenant-General  to 
General  Sherman,  from  City  Point,  September  the  10th : 

"  As  soon  as  your  men  are  properly  rested,  and  preparations  can  be 
made,  it  is  desirable  that  another  campaign  should  be  commenced.  We 
want  to  keep  the  enemy  continually  pressed  to  the  end  of  the  war.  If 
we  give  him  no  peace  while  the  war  lasts,  the  end  can  not  be  far  dis 
tant.  Now  that  we  have  all  of  Mobile  Bay  that  is  valuable,  I  do  not 
know  but  it  will  be  the  best  for  Major-General  Canby's  troops  to  act 
upon  Savannah  whilst  you  move  on  Augusta.  I  should  like  to  hear  from 
you,  however,  on  this  matter." 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  313 

To  this  Sherman  replied  the  same  day,  suggesting  a  mod 
ification  of  the  general  idea,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  in 
supplying  his  command ;  adding  : 

"  If  I  could  be  sure  of  finding  provisions  and  ammunition  at  Augusta 
or  Columbus,  Ga.,  I  can  march  to  Milledgeville,  and  compel  Hood  to 
give  up  Augusta  or  Macon,  and  could  then  turn  on  the  other.  *  *  If 
you  can  manage  to  take  the  Savannah  River  as  high  as  Augusta,  or 
the  Chattahoochee  as  far  up  as  Columbus,  I  can  sweep  the  whole  State 
of  Georgia ;  otherwise  I  would  risk  our  whole  army  by  going  too  far 
from  Atlanta." 

Shortly  afterwards  Grant  replied  by  letter,  in  which  he 
explained  the  situation  in  Virginia,  and  the  proposed  move 
ment  against  Wilmington.  He  also  sent  Colonel  Porter,  a 
trusted  staff  officer,  to  confer  with  Sherman  more  fully 
than  could  be  done  by  correspondence.  Sherman  answered 
by  letter  as  follows  : 

"  I  will  therefore  give  my  opinion,  that,  after  you  get  Wilmington, 
you  strike  for  Savannah  and  the  river ;  that  Canby  be  instructed  to 
hold  the  Mississippi  River,  and  send  a  force  to  get  Columbus,  Ga.,  either 
by  the  way  of  the  Alabama  or  the  Appalachicola,  and  that  I  keep 
Hood  employed  and  put  my  army  in  final  order  for  a  march  on 
Augusta,  Columbia,  and  Charleston,  to  be  ready  as  soon  as  Wilming 
ton  is  sealed  as  to  commerce,  and  the  city  of  Savannah  is  in  our 
possession." 

In  the  meantime,  Hood  commenced  his  movement  against 
the  railroads  north  of  Atlanta,  and  Grant  began  to  suspect  his 
real  intentions.  On  the  10th  of  October,  Sherman  notified 
him  that  with  Hood,  Forrest,  and  Wheeler,  all  turned  loose, 
"  without  home  or  habitation,"  it  would  be  impossible  to  pro 
tect  his  communications,  and  therefore  proposed  to  break  up 
the  railroad  to  Chattanooga,  and  "  to  strike  out  with  wag 
ons  for  Milledgeville,  Millen,  and  Savannah."  Though  he 
seemed  to  think  that  Hood,  instead  of  going  northward, 
would  simply  occupy  Talledega,  and  threaten  Kingston, 
Bridgeport,  and  Decatur. 

Grant  feeling  sure  that  Hood  would  not  be  satisfied  with 
this,  but  would  strike  for  Nashville,  was  fully  impressed  with 


314  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

the  necessity  of  providing  for  the  defense  of  the  line  of  the 
Tennessee,  but  having  full  confidence  in  Sherman's  disposi 
tions  for  the  protection  of  Tennessee,  as  well  as  in  the 
capacity  of  Thomas,  just  before  midnight  on  the  llth  of 
October,  he  issued  the  necessary  authority  for  the  march  to 
the  sea.  "  It  was  the  original  design,"  says  the  Lieutenant- 
General  in  his  official  report,  "  to  hold  Atlanta,  and  by  get 
ting  through  to  the  coast  with  a  garrison  left  on  the  Southern 
railroads  leading  east  and  west  through  Georgia,  to  effectually 
sever  the  East  from  the  West.  In  other  words,  to  cut  the 
would-be-Confederacy  in  two  again  as  it  had  been  cut  once  by 
our  gaining  possession  of  the  Mississippi  River."  If  there 
was  any  hesitation  manifested  either  by  Grant  or  Sherman  in 
reference  to  this  movement,  it  arose  from  the  menacing  atti 
tude  of  Hood,  and  a  pardonable  anxiety  to  provide  for  all 
contingencies  likely  to  follow  whatever  plan  of  operation  that 
erratic  General  might  adopt. 

Immediately  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  Jefferson  Davis 
visited  Georgia  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  move 
ments  then  supposed  to  be  in  progress  under  the  direction  of 
Governor  Brown,  looking  to  a  disruption  of  the  Confederacy 
and  a  suspension  of  hostilities.  After  attending  to  this  mat 
ter  in  the  style  of  a  dictator,  he  made  a  "  hopeful  and  encour 
aging  "  speech  at  Macon,  which  he  repeated  in  substance  to 
the  army  under  Hood.  This  speech  was  remarkable  for 
nothing  except  the  frankness  with  which  it  made  known  the 
rebel  plan  of  operations.  Davis  is  reported  to  have  said 
to  the  Tennesseeans  of  Cheatham's  division :  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,  for  within  a  short  while  your  faces  will  be  turned 
homeward  and  your  feet  pressing  Tennessee  soil ; "  and  upon 
another  occasion  to  an  audience  at  Augusta:  "We  must 
march  into  Tennessee ;  there  we  will  draw  from  20,000  to 
30,000  men  to  our  standard,  and  so  strengthened  we  must 
push  the  enemy  back  to  the  Ohio." 

This  remarkable  declaration  was  soon  followed  by  the 
commencement  of  operations  against  Sherman's  communica 
tions.  In  the  meanwhile,  anticipating  something  of  this 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  S15 

kind,  Sherman  sent  Wagner's  division  of  the  Fourth  corps 
and  Morgan's  division  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  back  to  Chat 
tanooga,  and  Corse's  division  of  the  Fifteenth  corps  to  Eome. 
On  the  1st  of  October,  Hood  moved  westward  from  Love- 
joy's  Station  and  crossed  the  Chattahoochee,  after  which  he 
marched  rapidly  to  the  north-eastward,  striking  the  railroad 
in  the  vicinity  of  Big  Shanty.  Meeting  with  no  opposition, 
he  put  a  large  force  to  work,  tearing  up  and  twisting  the 
rails,  and  burning  the  ties,  bridges  and  trestle-work  for  many 
miles.  Sherman  did  not  suffer  this  to  continue  long,  but 
leaving  Slocum  with  the  Twentieth  corps  to  hold  Atlanta,  he 
pushed  hard  after  the  rebels  with  the  Fourth,  Fourteenth, 
Fifteenth,  Seventeenth  and  Twenty-third  corps  and  two 
divisions  of  cavalry.  Fearing  that  the  enemy  would  fall 
upon  Allatoona,  his  secondary  base,  and  a  position  of  great 
strength  he  ordered  General  Corse  at  Eome  with  a  brigade 
to  re-enforce  it  without  delay.  Corse  arrived  there  on  the 
night  of  the  4th,  and  being  the  senior  officer  present  took 
command.  The  next  morning  a  detachment  of  Hood's  army 
under  General  French  made  a  vehement  assault  upon  the 
national  works,  but  were  severely  repulsed.  The  gallant 
Corse  received  a  dreadful  wound  in  the  face, 'and  many  of 
his  bravest  troops  were  killed.  « 

Sherman  on  reaching  Kenesaw  from  which  he  could  see  the 
enemy's  movements,  pushed  the  Twenty-third  corps  to  the 
westward,  threatening  Hood's  rear.  This  caused  him  to 
withdraw  from  the  neighborhood  of  Allatoona  and  making  a 
feint  towards  Rome,  he  crossed  the  Coosa  eleven  miles  below. 
Sherman  reached  Rome  on  the  llth,  and  sent  Garrard's  cav 
alry  and  the  Twenty-third  corps,  to  the  north  side  of  the 
Oostenaula  for  the  purpose  of  threatening  the  flank  of  the 
hostile  army,  still  marching  northward  rapidly,  destroying 
the  railroad  wherever  a  favorable  opportunity  presented  itself. 
Hood  captured  the  garrison  at  Dalton,  and  then  withdrew 
to  Snake  Creek,  where  he  was  attacked  by  Howard,  while 
Stanley  with  the  Fourth  and  Fourteenth  corps  pushed  for 
ward  to  get  in  his  rear.  Perceiving  this  movement  Hood 


316  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

retreated  to  Ship's  Gap,  where  he  was  again  attacked ;  but 
without  waiting  to  give  battle  he  hurried  on  to  Lafayette  and 
finally  to  Gadsden  on  the  Coosa.  On  the  19th,  Sherman's 
forces  were  grouped  about  Gaylesville,  at  which  place  they 
remained  several  days  watching  the  enemy.  On  the  23d  of 
October,  Hood  moved  from  his  camp  on  the  Coosa  River, 
directing  his  march  over  Lookout  Mountain  towards  Gun- 
ter's  Landing  and  Decatur  on  the  Tennessee,,  Near  the 
latter  place  he  formed  a  junction  with  a  portion  of  General 
Taylor's  army  which  had  moved  from  Central  Mississippi  by 
the  way  of  Corinth  and  Tuscumbia.  Sherman  became  fully 
aware  of  this  on  the  25th,  and  having  already  sent  Thomas 
back  to  Nashville  to  resume  command  of  his  old  department, 
he  detached  the  Fourth  corps  under  Stanley  and  ordered  it 
to  Chattanooga,  to  report  thence  to  Thomas.  On  the  30th, 
he  sent  Schofield  with  the  Twenty-third  corps  from  Resaca, 
where  it  had  stopped,  to  the  rear  with  similar  instructions. 
Wilson  in  the  meantime  had  reached  Gaylesville  and  reported 
to  Sherman  for  the  purpose  of  reorganizing  and  commanding 
the  cavalry  forces  belonging  to  the  Military  Division  of  the 
Mississippi.  After  receiving  full  powers,  that  officer  dis 
mounted  the  -remnant  of  Garrard's  and  McCook's  divisions 
and  turned  over  the  horses  thus  obtained  to  Kilpatrick,  who 
was  directed  to  accompany  the  army  to  the  coast  with  his 
division  now  amounting  to  nearly  5000  effective  men. 

Wilson  was  then  sent  back  to  Nashville,  with  all  the 
dismounted  detachments  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the 
organization  of  his  corps,  and  assisting  Thomas  in  the  oper 
ations  against  Hood.  Sherman  instructed  him  to  collect  the 
largest  possible  force,  and  in  case  Hood  should  change  his 
rnind  in  reference  to  the  invasion  of  Tennessee,  and  should 
follow  him  towards  Savannah,  Wilson  was  then  to  follow 
also,  sweeping  well  down  through  Central  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  doing  all  the  damage  he  could  inflict  upon  the  rebel 
cause,  and  ultimately  joining  Sherman  wherever  he  might  be 
found.  If  Hood  continued  his  threatened  movement  north 
ward,  Wilson  was  in  that  case  to  join  Thomas,  and  after 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  317 

assisting  in  the  expulsion  of  Hood,  to  carry  out  the  forego 
ing  plan  as  nearly  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Having 
spent  several  nights  over  his  camp  fire  in  carefully  arranging 
these  details,  Sherman  completed  his  arrangements  for  the 
coming  campaign  towards  the  sea-coast.  The  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  Smyrna  camp-ground, 
while  the  Fourteenth  corps  moved  to  Kingston,  where  it 
remained  till  the  sick  and  wounded,  surplus  baggage  and 
artillery,  together  with  the  garrisons  north  of  that  place, 
were  sent  back  to  Chattanooga.  The  railroads  and  tele- 

D 

graphs  radiating  from  Atlanta,  were  effectually  broken  up, 
severing  all  communications  with  the  North,  and  on  the  14th 
of  November,  Sherman  concentrated  his  army  at  Atlanta, 
preparatory  to  the  commencement  of  his  operations  east 
ward.  This  city  had  already  been  converted  into  a  purely 
military  town,  by  the  expulsion  of  its  inhabitants,  and  was 
soon  to  be  reduced  to  a  mass  of  blackened  walls  and  iso 
lated  chimneys.  On  the  eve  of  its  abandonment,  all  the 
public  buildings,  such  as  depots,  machine  shops,  and  manu 
facturing  establishments  were  committed  to  the  flames,  and  as 
there  was  no  able-bodied  men  except  the  marching  soldiery, 
near  enough  to  control  the  fire,  and  no  suitable  fire  apparatus, 
the  entire  town,  with  the  exception  of  the  suburbs  and  an 
occasional  block,  was  soon  in  ruins.  Eome  suffered  nearly 
the  same  fate. 

On  the  16th  of  November,  Sherman  left  Atlanta  in  com 
pany  with  the  Fourteenth  corps,  mar  -hing  by  Sithonia,  Cov- 
ington  and  Shady  Grove,  directly  towards  Milledgeville ; 
having  already  despatched  the  right  wing  of  the  army  with 
Kilpatrick's  cavalry  by  the  way  of  Jonesboro  and  McDon- 
ough,  with  orders  to  make  a  strong  feint  on  Macon,  cross 
ing  the  Ocmulgee  about  Planter's  Mills,  and  moving  thence 
towards  Gordon  on  the  Macon  and  Savannah  Railroad.  The 
same  day,  Slocum,  with  the  left  wing,  was  directed  to  move 
along  the  Augusta  Railroad  to  Madison,  burning  the  railway 
bridge  across1  the  Oconee,  east  of  that  place  and  then  turn 
ing  south  to  Milledgeville.  The  different  columns  were 


318  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

ordered  to  form  a  junction  at  the  end  of  seven  days,  and  dur 
ing  the  march  to  inflict  as  much  injury  as  they  could  upon 
the  resources  of  the  region  which  they  were  traversing. 
The  troops  were  provided  with  selected  trains,  well  supplied 
with  ammunition,  and  light  rations,  consisting  of  coffee, 
sugar,  and  hard  bread,  for  forty  days,  with  a  double  allowance 
of  salt.  A  herd  of  beef  cattle  was  also  driven  along  with 
the  trains.  The  corps  commanders  were  directed  to  forage 
whenever  and  wherever  desirable  articles  could  be  obtained, 
but  the  different  staff  departments  were  charged  with  seeing 
that  this  important  service  should  not  be  allowed  to  degener 
ate  into  promiscuous  pillaging.  The  general  order  of  march 
was  admirably  drawn,  and  although  much  difficulty  was 
encountered  in  crossing  rivers,  and  moving  along  muddy 
roads,  fair  progress  was  made.  As  has  been  seen,  Hood 
was  far  away  towards  the  North-west,  and  as  the  Georgia 
militia,  although  controlled  by  a  powerful  array  of  Gen 
erals,  were  by  no  means  the  most  formidable  soldiery  sup 
porting  the  rebel  cause,  the  Union  columns  met  with  no 
material  opposition.  Kilpatrick  made  a  dash  at  Macon,  and 
succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  line  of  works  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  river,  but  was  soon  driven  out,  and 
proceeded  to  join  the  army  assembling  at  Gordon.  Near  this 
place  a  sharp  skirmish  took  place  on  the  22d,  between  Wal- 
cott's  brigade  and  the  Georgia  militia,  but  the  enemy  was  soon 
repulsed  and  driven  back  in  the  direction  of  Macon.  From 
Gordon,  Howard  and  F  locum  moved  to  Sandersville,  where 
the  advanced  guard  of  the  column  had  a  short  engagement 
with  a  part  of  Wheeler's  cavalry.  Kilpatrick  was  thrown 
forward  at  the  same  time  by  the  way  of  Milledgeville  to 
"VVaynesborough,  thus  covering  the  left  flank  of  the  infantry. 
The  rest  of  the  army  pursued  parallel  routes  farther  to  the 
south.  In  this  order,  covering  a  front  varying  from  ten  to 
forty  miles,  Sherman  pushed  evenly  and  regularly  forward, 
driving  the  rebels  into  their  works  about  Savannah,  by  the 
10th  of  December.  Measures  were  taken  at  once  to  invest 
the  city  on  the  south  and  west  sides,  while  General  Hazen, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  31Q 

commanding  the  second  division  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  was 
sent  to  the  west  side  of  the  Ogeechee,  and  directed  to  move 
against  Fort  McAllister,  commanding  its  entrance  into  Ossa- 
baw  Sound.  That  place  was  reached  by  the  13th  of  Decem 
ber,  and  although  found  to  be  an  enclosed  work  of  great 
strength,  it  was  carried  by  assault  after  a  brief  but  sanguin 
ary  struggle ;  150  prisoners  and  22  guns  were  captured. 
Communication  was  at  once  opened  with  the  blockading 
squadron  under  the  command  of  Rear- Admiral  Dahlgren. 
A  meeting  took  place  between  the  Admiral  and  General 
Sherman,  when  arrangements  were  made  for  a  co-operative 
attack  upon  Savannah. 

General  Foster,  commanding  at  Port  Royal,  sent  a  division 
of  troops  up  Broad  River  to  break  the  Savannah  and  Charles 
ton  Railway,  and  then  to  move  towards  Savannah  for  the 
purpose  of  completing  the  investment.  After  diligent  labor 
the  arrangements  for  the  assault  were  completed,  but  on  the 
night  of  the  21st,  Hardee  succeeded  in  evacuating  the  place 
by  crossing  to  the  north  side  of  the  Savannah  River.  Sher 
man  occupied  it  at  once,  finding  it  supplied  with  167  pieces 
of  artillery  and  much  valuable  property.  He  immediately 
announced  his  success  to  the  President  in  the  following 
terms :  "  I  beg  to  present  you,  as  a  Christmas  gift  the  city 
of  Savannah,  with  150  heavy  guns  and  plenty  of  ammuni 
tion  and  also  about  25,000  bales  of  cotton." 

The  present  and  in  fact  the  only  value  of  Savannah,  was 
mainly  as  a  resting  place  and  the  base  of  future  operations. 
The  real  significance  of  Sherman's  march,  was  that  it  effect 
ually  interposed  a  compact  army  of  70,000  men  between  Lee's 
army  and  the  rebel  power  in  the  South-west,  and  gave  Grant 
the  immense  advantage  of  interior  lines  against  the  rebellion  ; 
an  advantage  never  before  attained,  and  which,  properly  im 
proved,  could  not  fail  to  result  in  the  complete  overthrow 
of  the  Confederacy.  Not  till  Hood  had  been  defeated  and 
driven  from  Tennessee  did  the  rebel  cabinet  see  the  fatal 
mistake  into  which  they  had  been  led ;  spurred  on  by  the 
popular  clamor,  they  reinstated  Johnston,  in  the  command 


320  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

of  their  widely  scattered  and  decimated  forces ;  but  it  was 
too  late.  That  able  leader  hastened  to  correct  the  mistake 
which  had  been  made  under  the  inspiration  of  Davis,  by 
gathering  the  wreck  of  Hood's  army  and  uniting  it  with 
Hardee's,  at  some  point  north  and  east  of  Sherman,  so  as 
to  get  nearer  to  Lee  than  his  antagonist  could  get  to  Grant. 
The  adoption  of  this  plan  was  the  last  ray  of  good  general 
ship  displayed  by  any  of  the  Southern  leaders,  and  had  the 
means  for  its  execution  been  as  adequate  to  the  requirements 
of  the  case,  as  the  conception  itself  was  brilliant,  the  "  lost 
cause  "  might  still  have  made  head  with  a  faint  glimmer  of 
hope  that  Fortune  would  not  prove  entirely  inexorable. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

REBEL  POLICY  OF  INVASION — BEAUREGARD  SENT  WEST — HE  REOR 
GANIZES  AND  EQUIPS  THE  REBEL  TROOPS  AT  CORINTH  —  THOMAS 
CONCENTRATES — FORREST'S  OPERATIONS  IN  WEST  TENNESSEE — THE 
CAPTURE  OF  JOHNSONVILLE — SCHOFIELD  SENT  TO  PULASKI — HOOD 

PUSHES  NORTHWARD — REBELS  REPULSED  AT  SPRING  HILL — CHEAT- 
HAM  ATTACKS  STANLEY — SCHOFIELD  CONCENTRATES  AT  FRANKLIN 
— THE  POSITION  OF  THE  TWO  ARMIES — THE  ATTACK — A  FIERCE 
BUT  SUCCESSFUL  STRUGGLE — SCHOFIELD  FALLS  BACK  TO  THE  FOR 
TIFICATIONS  AROUND  NASHVILLE — WILSON  PREPARES  HIS  CAVALRY 
—GRANT'S  ANXIETY — THOMAS  CONFIDENT — PLAN  OF  ATTACK — THE 

BATTLE   OF   NASHVILLE THE  REBELS    DEFEATED — THE    PURSUIT 

THE  RAID  FROM  MEMPHIS  —  STONEMAN'S  MOVEMENTS — RESULTS. 

IT  was  a  fortunate  determination  on  the  part  of  General 
Grant,  to  permit  Sherman  to  march  to  the  sea-coast,  while 
Hood  was  marching  northward  for  the  reconquest  of  Ten 
nessee,  and  a  wise  one  on  Sherman's  part,  to  leave  so 
prudent  and  skillful  a  General  as  Thomas  to  direct  affairs 
throughout  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
latter  was  anxious  not  to  be  left  behind,  but  he  was  destined 
in  this  case  at  least  to  find  the  rear  the  post  of  honor  as  well 
as  of  danger. 

The  rebel  President  had  sent  forth  his  fiat  of  invasion,  and 
once  more  brought  the  trusted  Beauregard  to  the  West  to 
carry  his  heroic  policy  into  execution.  This  experienced  offi 
cer  being  familiar  with  the  theater  of  operations,  was  entrust 
ed  with  plenary  powers  over  all  the  rebel  resources,  and  set 
himself  busily  at  work  upon  the  desperate  task  assigned  him. 
By  the  middle  of  October,  he  arrived  at  Corinth,  his  old 
head-quarters  of  three  years  before,  and  by  extraordinary 


322  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

exertions  soon  had  the  railroads  repaired  and  trains  running 
from  Meridian  and  Central  Mississippi,  through  Corinth,  to 
Cherokee  Station,  and  with  every  car,  sent  forward  supplies 
of  all  kinds  for  Hood's  army.  Clothing,  shoes,  equipments, 
forage,  food,  arms,  and  ammunition,  were  gathered  and  dis 
tributed  with  an  unsparing  hand.  He-enforcements  in  con 
siderable  numbers  were  also  collected  from  Georgia,  and 
from  the  command  of  Taylor,  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi, 
thus,  in  a  few  weeks,  swelling  the  ranks  which  Hood's  vigor 
ous  offensive  about  Atlanta  had  so  rapidly  decimated,  to 
nearly  45,000  infantry  and  10,000  cavalry.  Forrest's  cav 
alry  command,  largely  increased  in  strength  and  efficiency, 
was  reorganized  and  also  directed  to  co-operate  with  Hood. 
As  a  matter  of  course  these  great  preparations  could  not  be 
long  concealed  from  Thomas,  who  arrived  at  Nashville  on 
the  3d  of  October,  and  immediately  began  to  take  measures 
for  strengthening  'the  detachments  doing  duty  along  the 
Tennessee.  The  main  object  at  first  was  to  delay  Hood's 
forward  movement  till  an  army  could  be  concentrated,  at 
some  point  south  of  Nashville,  and  it  must  be  confessed  this 
was  no-  easy  task  to  accomplish.  Thomas  had  at  his  immedi 
ate  disposal  only  a  small  force  of  cavalry,  consisting  of 
Hatch's  division  and  Croxton's  brigade  about  4,000  men  in 
all,  which  he  ordered  to  the  neighborhood  of  Florence. 
A  small  brigade  under  Colonel  Capron,  was  sent  towards 
Waynesborough. 

Schofield  and  Stanley  were  hurried  from  Gaylesville  and 
Chattanooga  to  Pulaski,  where  they  were  concentrated  as 
rapidly  as  circumstances  would  permit;  the  local  garrisons 
with  the  exception  of  that  at  Decatur,  were  also  drawn  in, 
but  with  all  Thomas  could  do,  his  effective  force  with  which 
to  resist  Hood's  first  onset  did  not  exceed  27,000  men. 
Grant  feeling  anxious  to  render  Thomas'  position  in  Tennes 
see  entirely  safe,  sent  General  Eawlins,  his  Chief-of-Staff  to 
Missouri,  with  orders  to  gather  Smith's  command  and  such 
other  unemployed  troops  as  could  be  found,  and  forward  them 
to  Nashville  as  rapidly  as  the  transports  could  carry  them. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  323 

"Wilson  was  busily  engaged  in  putting  the  fragmentary  cav 
alry  into  shape,  and  raking  the  cavalry  depots  for  horses  upon 
which  to  remount  the  regiments  which  had  given  their  horses 
to  Kilpatrick.  While  these  preparation*  for  the  creation  of 
an  army  were  in  progress,  Hood  began  his  long  threatened 
advance.  But  this  was  preceded  by  the  operations  of  For 
rest  in  "\Vest  Tennessee.  Immediately  after  his  expulsion 
from  Middle  Tennessee,  that  hardy  rider  led  his  forces  by  the 
way  of  Purdy  to  Fort  Heiman,  where  he  established  a  battery 
of  twenty-pounder  guns,  and  by  a  successful  stratagem  cap 
tured  one  light-clad  gun-boat  and  three  transports.  He  then 
manned  the  captured  vessels,  and  made  a  combined  move 
ment  against  Johnsonville. 

D 

This  place  being  at  the  terminus  of  the  Nashville  and 
Tennessee  Kiver  Kailroad,  and  at  the  head  of  low  water 
navigation  on  the  Tennessee  River,  had  acquired  considerable 
importance  as  a  base  of  supplies  for  our  army  and  was 
now  quite  useful  to  Thomas.  Forrest  reached  a  point  near 
it  on  the  2d  of  November,  and  immediately  planted  his  bat 
teries  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  isolating  three  more 
gun-boats  and  eight  transports.  He  opened  fire  on  the  4th, 
and  although  the  gun-boats  replied  with  spirit  they  were  soon 
disabled  and  set  on  fire,  to  prevent  their  falling  into  rebel 
hands.  The  transports  suffered  the  same  fate,  but  most  of 
the  military  stores  including  boots,  shoes,  clothing,  hard  bread 
and  hospital  supplies  and  other  public  property,  collected 
upon  the  levee  at  Johnsonville,  valued  at  a  million  and  a  half 
of  dollars,  fell  into  Forrest's  possession,  and  were  either  car 
ried  away  or  burnt.  Forrest's  troopers  laden  with  the  spoils 
of  their  fortunate  campaign,  now  hastened  to  rejoin  Hood. 
On  the  night  of  the  5th,  Schofield  reached  Johnsonville  but 
finding  the  place  in  ruins  and  the  enemy  gone,  Thomas 
ordered  him  at  once  to  Pulaski,  assigning  him  to  the  com 
mand  of  all  the  troops  assembling  there,  with  instructions  to 
watch  Hood  and  retard  his  advance,  but  not  to  risk  a  general 
engagement  till  the  entire  available  strength  of  the  military 
division  should  be  concentrated. 


324  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  Hood's  infantry  force,  now 
entirely  refreshed,  well-clad  and  well-armed,  crossed  the  Ten 
nessee  near  Florence,  and  on  the  20th  began  its  northern 
march,  covered  by  Forrest's  cavalry,  which  had  been  thrown 
forward  *some  days  previous.  Croxton  and  Hatch,  command 
ing  the  effective  force  of  Wilson's  cavalry,  reported  the 
movement  at  once  to  Thomas,  and  handling  their  squadrons 
with  great  skill,  did  all  in  their  power  to  retard  the  rebel 
movement.  Schofield,  holding  his  command  well  in  hand, 
retired  shortly  to  Columbia,  on  the  Duck  River ;  Hood, 
meanwhile,  demonstrated  towards  Waynesborough,  but  con 
tinued  to  press  northward  as  fast  as  possible.  Sharp  skir 
mishing  took  place  at  Lewisburg  and  Campbellville,  between 
the  cavalry,  but  no  'serious  engagement  was  brought  on. 
Schofield  remained  in  Columbia  only  a  short  time,  disposing 
the  cavalry,  now  under  Wilson,  in  person  along  the  north  side 
of  the  river,  so  as  to  watch  the  crossings  both  above  and 
below,  but  mainly  those  above  the  town.  At  noon  of  the 
28th  of  November,  Hood's  mounted  troops  made  their  ap 
pearance  at  the  various  fords  between  Columbia  and  the 
crossing  of  the  Lewisburg  pike,  and  by  dark  had  forced  a 
passage  at  several  places. 

The  infantry,  during  the  night,  followed  close  upon  their 
heels,  and  early  the  next  day  struck  across  the  country 
toward  Spring  Hill,  twelve  miles  in  the  rear  of  Columbia. 
Schofield,  with  everything  except  his  rear  guard,  had  already 
evacuated  the  latter  place,  and  receiving  timely  notification 
from  Wilson,  of  the  rebel  movements  and  probable  intentions, 
sent  Stanley  with  one  division  rapidly  by  the  turnpike  to 
Spring  Hill,  but  not  deeming  it  safe  to  withdraw  from  the 
vicinity  of  Columbia  during  daylight,  he  restrained  the  "main 
body  of  the  army  till  after  nightfall.  He  had  plenty  of  time 
for  the  retrograde  movement,  which  if  promptly  made  would 
prevent  Hood  from  obtaining  a  lodgment  on  the  Franklin 
pike,  while  Wilson, — knowing  that  if  Forrest  should  get  pos 
session  of  the  Lewisburg  pike,  the  only  other  good  road  in 
that  region,  he  would  reach  Franklin  first, — lost  no  time  in 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  325 

concentrating  the  cavalry  on  the  latter  highway.  The  next 
morning  he  retired  slowly  towards  Franklin,  the  rebel  cavalry 
pressing  heavily  upon  his  rear  guard  under  Croxton.  At 
Calvary  Church,  about  four  miles  east  of  Spring  Hill,  a  stand 
was  made,  and  the  rebels  severely  repulsed.  Forrest  then 
turned  towards  the  railroad  and  turnpike  along  which  the 
infantry  were  supposed  to  be  marching. 

But  fortunately  Stanley  was  in  position  to  resist  his  further 
progress.  A  sharp  fight  ensued,  lasting  all  the  afternoon.  By 
four  o'clock,  Cheatham's  corps,  accompanied  by  Hood  in  per 
son,  arrived  upon  the  field.  Stanley  was  now  sorely  pressed 
by  the  entire  rebel  army,  except  one  division  of  Lee's 
corps,  which  Schofield  was  engaged  in  holding  at  Columbia. 
Perceiving  something  of  the  advantage  which  this  fortunate 
conjunction  of  affairs  had  thrown  into  his  hands,  Hood  or 
dered  Cheatham  to  make  a  vigorous  attack  upon  Stanley's 
hastily  constructed  works,  and  to  drive  him  beyond  the  pike 
which  he  was  covering,  but  this  was  found  to  be  an  exceed 
ingly  difficult  task,  for  neither  Stanley  nor  his  troops  were 
accustomed  to  yielding  a  position  without  a  desperate  strug 
gle.  Cheatham's  attack  was  well  made  but  failed.  Dark 
ness  put  a  cessation  to  hostilities  till  midnight,  at  which  hour 
the  head  of  Schofield's  column,  marching  rapidly  towards 
Franklin,  made  its  appearance.  The  rebel  pickets,  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  turnpike,  gave  the  alarm,  whereupon 
Hood  sent  an  order  to  Cheatham's  head-quarters,  directing 
him  to  throw  his  corps  across  the  turnpike  for  the  purpose 
of  arresting  the  movement  of  the  Union  army.  This  order 
was  not  obeyed,  nor  was  any  serious  effort  made  to  interfere 
with  either  the  front  or  the  flank  of  Schofield's  hurrying 
columns.  Indeed  it  is  questionable  if  the  order  reached 
Cheatham  till  after  the  Union  rear  guard  had  passed. 

The  next  morning  Schofield  concentrated  his  forces  at 
Franklin,  a  considerable  town,  situated  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Harpeth,  an  affluent  of  the  Cumberland,  and  eighteen 
miles  south  of  Nashville  bv  the  great  road  connecting  the 

J  D  O 

two  places.     The  river  making  a  horseshoe  bend  in  rear  of 


326  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

the  town,  Schofield  disposed  his  troops  in  a  semi-circular 
line  covering  the  place  reaching  to  the  river  bank  both  above 
and  below  it.  Stanley  with  the  Fourth  corps  held  the  right, 
and  General  (afterwards  Governor)  J.  D.  Cox,  with  the 
Twenty-third  corps  held  the  left,  while  the  major  part  of 
Wilson's  cavalry  was  posted  along  the  northern  bank,  guard 
ing  the  various  fords  for  some  distance  above  and  below. 
Croxton's  brigade  held  an  advanced  position  on  the  Lewis- 
burg  Pike.  The  Union  soldiers  knowing  that  they  were  out 
numbered  fell  to  work  busily  to  entrench  their  position.  By 
noon  of  the  30th  of  November,  Hood's  advance  began  to 
press  heavily  upon  Croxton's  cavalry  and  the  infantry  pickets, 
driving  them  slowly  back ;  by  four  o'clock  his  army  was  in 
position,  with  Stewart  on  the  right,  S.  D.  Lee  in  the  center, 
and  Cheatham  on  the  left ;  Forrest's  cavalry  was  mainly  qn 
the  right  flank.  The  ground  separating  the  two  armies  was 
a  broad  undulating  plain,  mostly  cleared  fields  across  which 
Hood  advanced  gallantly  and  confidently  to  the  attack. 

Before  starting  he  assured  his  men  that  victory  was  certain ; 
and  it  was  certain,  but  destined  to  bestow  its  laurels  upon 
Schofield  and  his  stalwart  veterans.  The  brunt  of  the  first 
attack  fell  upon  Wagner's  division  of  the  Fourth  corps,  which 
had  been  permitted  to  occupy  a  salient  position  about  eight 
hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  general  line.  It  had  fought 
gallantly  all  day  before  at  Spring^  Hill,  and  now  showed  the 
same  indomitable  pluck,  but  it  was  too  light  to  withstand  the 
shock  of  Cheatham's  heavy  masses,  overlapping  it  on  both 
flanks.  Delivering  its  fire  with  precision,  and  holding  on  till 
in  imminent  peril,  it  finally  fell  back  in  disorder  to  the  main 
line,  closely  followed  by  the  exultant  Tennesseeans,  into  and 
across  the  new  entrenchments.  It  was  a  most  critical  mo 
ment  for  the  Union  lines ;  a  wide  gap  had  been  made,  their 
works  and  eight  guns  were  already  lost,  when  Opdyke's  bri 
gade  of  Wagner's  division,  hitherto  in  reserve,  supported  by 
Conrad's  brigade,  dashed  forward  with  irresistible  fury,  hurl 
ing  the  astounded  rebels  headlong  from  the  works,  and 
re-establishing  the  broken  center.  The  gallant  Stanley,  a 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  327 

soldier  like  Ney,  "  terrible  in  battle,"  fully  realizing  the 
danger  which  menaced  us,  led  the  attack,  mounting  the  very 
parapet  in  front  of  his  men  to  hold  them  to  the  desperate 
work,  and  after  a  few  minutes  was  severely  wounded.  The 
rebels  struggled  courageously  to  regain  their  lost  ground, 
returning  again  and  again  to  the  attack,  but  the  struggle  was 
hopeless.  Cleburne,  Gist,  Brown,  Manigault,  Johnson  and 
Strahl  were  killed,  at  the  head  of  their  troops,  and  before 
night  closed  the  scene,  Hood  had  lost  6,252  of  his  best  men 
and  officers.  Simultaneously  with  the  conflict  in  front  of 
Franklin,  Forrest  drove  back  the  cavalry  pickets,  and  forced 
a  crossing  two  miles  above  the  town,  with  the  intention  of 
turning  Schofield's  left  and  falling  upon  his  communications 
and  rear.  But  Wilson  had  the  bulk  of  his  forces  under 
Croxton,  Hatch  and  Johnson,  well  in  hand  at  Matthew's 
Farm,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town,  and  throwing  them 
promptly  forward,  mounted  and  dismounted,  after  a  fight  of 
two  hours'  duration,  they  drove  the  rebels  into  the  river. 
Had  the  attack  of  either  Hood  or  Forrest  been  successful, 
Schofield's  army  must  have  been  destroyed,  for  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  withdraw  it  from  Franklin  in  the  confu 
sion  of  such  a  disaster.  The  Union  loss  in  this  sanguinary 
engagement  was  2,326,  including  in  the  number,  1,104 
prisoners. 

Under  cover  of  darkness,  Schofield  crossed  to  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  and  the  next  day,  covered  by  the  cavalry, 
continued  his  march  to  the  fortifications  surrounding  Nash- 

O 

ville,  where  Smith's  detachment  of  the  Sixteenth  corps, 
together  with  various  bodies  of  irregular  troops,  had  already 
been  assembled.  Steedman,  with  6,000  or  8,000  men, 
gathered  from  the  garrisons  of  Decatur,  Chattanooga,  Ste 
venson  and  Murfreesboro,  arrived  soon  after,  thus  concentra 
ting  a  force  of  all  arms  not  far  from  65,000  men.  But 
Thomas  was  in  no  hurry  to  attack  ;  feeling  confident  of  his 
position,  as  well  as  assured  of  Hood's  fbolhardiness,  he  de 
termined  to  make  sure  of  success  before  striking  a  blow. 
The  cavalry  forces  were  in  a  bad  condition ;  many  men  were 


328  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

dismounted,  and  many  of  the  horses  were  disabled  by  "  grease 
heel"  and  overwork.  Thomas,  therefore,  directed  Wilson  to 
withdraw  his  command  to  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  to 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  its  re-establishment.  Horses 
were  impressed  in  all  directions,  and  by  the  10th  of  Decem 
ber,  12,000  men  were  prepared  for  the  field ;  but  of  these, 
3,000  were  detached  under  McCook,  to  go  in  pursuit  of  a 
brigade  of  Forrest's  cavalry,  which  had  crossed  the  Cumber 
land  River  under  Lyon,  for  the  purpose  of  operating  upon 
Thomas'  communications ;  3,000  more  were  mounted  on 
broken-down  horses  from  the  hospital  stables,  unable  to 
stand  more  than  two  or  three  days'  service.  General  Grant 
had  watched  the  progress  of  this  campaign  from  his  head 
quarters  at  City  Point,  with  considerable  anxiety ;  knowing 
the  inchoate  condition  of  Thomas'  army,  and  the  desperate 
character  of  Hood,  he  could  not  help  entertaining  a  feeling 
of  uneasiness  till  the  great  battle  had  been  fought  and  won. 
The  entire  country  shared  his  apprehensions,  while  the  news 
papers  expressed  the  greatest  fear  that  Hood,  in  pursuance 
of  his  programme,  would  cross  the  Cumberland  and  carry 
the  war  to  the  Ohio  as  he  had  threatened. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Lieutenant-General  ordered 
Thomas  to  wait  no  longer  for  the  cavalry  but  to  attack  at 
once.  Before  this  order  was  received,  a  violent  rain-storm, 
followed  by  hail,  sleet,  snow  and  intense  cold  set  in,  covering 
the  entire  face  of  the  country  with  a  glaje  of  ice,  and  render 
ing  it  absolutely  impossible  for  troops  of  any  sort  to  move, 
much  less  cavalry.  Thomas  called  a  council  of  his  corps 
commanders,  read  them  the  orders,  and  asked  their  advice. 
With  one  accord  they  declared  it  impossible  to  attack  till  the 
weather  should  moderate,  asserting  that  an  attack  at  that  time 
would  be  certain  defeat,  but  that  if  delayed  till  the  ground 
should  become  passable  for  cavalry,  it  would  result  in  certain 
victory.  General  Grant  grew  still  more  impatient  and  started 
for  Nashville  in  person  to  put  the  troops  in  motion,  but  he  had 
scarcely  reached  Washington  when  he  received  the  reassuring 
tidings  of  victory. 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  329 

On  the  llth,  the  weather  began  to  moderate,  and  by  the 
night  of  the  14th,  all  the  arrangements  for  the  battle  had 
been  completed.  Thomas'  plan  of  attack  was  admirably 
arranged  and  thoroughly  comprehended  by  his  subordinates. 
It  consisted  mainly  of  a  feint  from  the  left  and  center,  with  a 
direct  attack  and  a  strong  turning  movement  from  the  right. 
His  troops  were  posted  in  the  following  order  :  Steedman  on 
the  left,  Wood  with  the  Fourth  corps  on  the  left  center, 
covering  the  Murfreesboro  and  Franklin  pikes,  Schofield  the 
right  center,  A.  J.  Smith  the  right,  with  Wilson's  troop 
ers  still  farther  towards  the  right.  General  Donaldson  with 
about  five  thousand  quartermaster's  employees  was  kept  in 
reserve  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the  defenses  of  the  city 
after  the  army  should  become  engaged.  The  morning  of  the 
loth  of  December  broke  cloudy,  and  the  landscape  to  the 
front  was  obscured  by  a  dense  fog,  which  delayed  the  move 
ment  for  an  hour  or  more  after  the  appointed  time,  and  then 
another  delay  supervened  on  account  of  a  movement  across 
the  front  of  the  cavalry  by  a  part  of  Smith's  command. 
Thomas,  with  unshaken  resolution,  had  declined  up  to  that 
time  to  molest  Hood,  or  to  disturb  the  serenity  of  his  confi 
dence,  by  experiments  against  his  works,  and  it  is  possible 
that  the  rebels  may  have  thought  him  weak  and  irresolute 
for  his  pains,  but  if  such  an  idea  had  found  place  in  Hood's 
quixotic  brain,  it  was  rudely  dispelled  by  the  shock  of  re 
sounding  arms.  As  soon  as  the  fog  lifted  sufficiently,  the 
battle  opened  by  Steednian's  feint  on  the  left,  followed  by 
an  assault  upon  the  rebel  salient  at  Montgomery's  Hill  by 
Wood's  corps.  The  cavalry  corps,  had  already  begun  its 
movement,  Johnson  on  the  extreme  right,  Croxton  next,  then 
Hatch,  with  Knipe  and  the  brigade  of  dismounted  troopers 
in  reserve.  Smith  moved  simultaneously  upon  the  rebel 
works  on  the  outlying  ridges  of  the  Brentwood  hills.  In 
a  short  time  the  rebel  left,  well  strung  out,  was  reached, 
broken  through  and  driven  back.  The  enemy  had  been 
deceived  in -regard  to  the  point  of  attack,  and  in  fact  did  not 
seem  to  expect  an  attack  at  all.  The  Brentwood  hills  were 


380  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

covered  with  a  thick  growth  of  timber,  and  being  steep  and 
muddy,  could  not  have  been  more  difficult  for  the  passage  of 
troops,  except  when  covered  with  snow  and  sleet.  But  after 
breaking  through  the  hostile  line  of  investment  at  Harding's 
Creek,  Wilson  wheeled  gradually  to  tke  left,  in  order  to 
envelope  and  overwhelm  the  left  flank  of  the  main  line,  and 
if  possible  to  reach  Brentwood  Station.  By  noon  he  came 
full  upon  the  rebel  works,  but  without  hesitation,  the  dis 
mounted  troopers  closely  followed  by  the  infantry  of  Smith's 
corps,  each  envious  of  the  rapidity  and  gallantry  of  the  other, 
sprang  with  alacrity  upon  the  astonished  rebels.  McArthur 
in  solid  columns,  and  Hatch  with  a  heavy  line  of  skirmishers, 
armed  with  repeating  rifles,  swept  over  the  first  redoubt, 
capturing  four  guns  and  a  number  of  prisoners. 

Without  waiting  to  count  the  spoils,  the  cavalry  pushed 
forward  against  a  second  redoubt  on  a  still  higher  hill  and 
carried  that  also,  with  4  more  guns  and  300  prisoners. 
Wood's  corps  now  moved  to  the  attack  carrying  the  rebel 
advanced  line,  while  Schofield  was  thrown  to  his  right  to  fill 
the  gap  between  Smith  and  Wilson,  both  of  whom  continued 
to  advance.  The  rebels  were  driven  steadily  beyond  the 
Hillsboro  pike,  losing  sixteen  guns  and  many  prisoners.  At 
night,  Wilson's  right  under  Hammond,  rested  on  the  Granny 
White  pike,  behind  the  rebel  left,  his  center  on  the  Hillsboro 
pike,  and  his  left  connecting  with  Schofield.  The  next  morn 
ing  the  action  was  renewed  by  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
rebel  cavalry  to  dislodge  Hammond  from  his  menacing  posi 
tion  ;  Hatch  was  sent  at  once  to  Hammond's  assistance,  and 
in  a  short  time  a  strong  line  of  dismounted  troopers  was 
swung  entirely  across  the  Granny  White  pike,  ^facing  Nash 
ville  and  pressing  the  rebel  left  and  rear  with  great  earnest 
ness.  Croxton  was  ordered  into  position  to  cover  this  line 
from  attack,  while  Johnson  marched  across  the  country  from 
Bell's  Landing.  The  broken  region  in  which  the  rebel  left  was 
now  posted  could  not  have  been  more  unpromising  for  cavalry 
operations ;  indeed  the  cavalry  was  cavalry  only  in  name  ; 
the  horses  were  left  far  behind,  for  they  could  scarcely  have 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  331 

clambeied  up  the  hills  singly,  much  less,  in  the  order  of  battle. 
The  discounted  troopers  however  continued  to  work  their  way 
forward,  gradually  driving  in  the  rebel  rear ;  by  noon  their  line 
extended  along  Hood's  rear  for  a  mile  ;  with  incredible  labor 
they  finally  succeeded  in  getting  two  pieces  of  artillery  to  the 
top  of  a  rugged  hill  taking  in  reverse  the  hostile  entrench 
ments.  Promptly  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  Wood  moved 
his  corps  forward,  driving  the  rebel  skirmishers  back  to  their 
works ;  pausing  to  form  his  columns  he  advanced  to  the 
assault  of  Overton's  Hill,  the  key  point  of  Hood's  line,  but 
after  a  gallant  attack  was  driven  back.  Steedman  conformed 
to  Wood's  movement,  on  the  left,  while  Smith  and  Schofield 
threw  forward  their  lines  on  the  right.  Meanwhile  the  cav 
alry  skirmishers  continued  to  press  upon  the  rebel  rear, 
clambering  across  the  ravines  and  up  the  hill-sides,  and 
breaking  through  the  dense  growth  of  underbrush  as  best 
they  could.  Finally  at  two  o'clock  a  trooper  captured  a 
despatch  from  Hood  to  Chalmers,  commanding  the  rebel 
horse  in  the  absence  of  Forrest,  directing  the  latter  in  most 
urgent  terms  to  dislodge  the  Union  cavalry  from  his  flank 
and  rear,  adding  that  unless  this  could  be  done  no  human 
force  could  save  him  from  defeat. 

This  despatch  was  sent  to  Thomas  while  the  movement  of 
our  cavalry  continued.  Perceiving  the  effect  produced,  and 
that  the  time  had  now  come  for  a  final  and  overwhelming  ad 
vance  along  the  whole  line,  Thomas  launched  the  entire  army 
directly  against  the  front  of  Hood's  now  concentrated  but 
shaken  divisions.  Wood's  corps,  supported  by  Steedman, 
advanced  again  to  the  assault  of  Overton's  Hill,  but  again 
met  with  a  bloody  repulse.  Schofield  and  Smith,  farther  to 
the  right,  advanced  at  the  same  time,  and  although  they  had 
to  clirnb  steep  hills  and  carry  a  strong  line  of  works,  they 
never  faltered  but  swept  right  on,  crossing  the  rebel  entrench 
ments  from  the  front,  as  the  dismounted  cavalry-men  dashed 
into  their  rear.  The  rebel  historians  say  that  Bates'  division 
broke  and  fled  in  panic,  but  they  forget  to  explain  that  it  was 
not  till  they  saw  themselves  about  to  be  crushed  like  grain 


332  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

between  the  upper  and  nether  millstones.  Schofield  and 
Smith  pressed  forward  with  irresistible  ardor,  sweeping 
everything  before  them.  "  Excited  by  the  victorious  cheers 
on  the  right,  and  the  intermingling  crack  of  rifle  and  carbine, 
which  told  of  the  joint  triumph  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  the 
Fourth  corps  and  Steedman's  command,  which  had  been 
already  handsomely  reformed  and  were  chafing  for  the  signal, 
burst  once  more  with  a  vigor  which  nothing  could  stay, 
against  the  stronghold  of  Overton's  Hill."  *  Human  nature 
could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  shortly  after  four  o'clock  the 
entire  rebel  line  gave  way  in  rout  and  confusion,  retreating 
rapidly  by  the  Franklin  pike,  and  the  fields  on  both  sides 

of  it. 

It  was  now  after  four  o'clock ;  darkness  was  coming  on, 

preceded  by  a  sombre  and  misty  twilight.  With  two  hours 
more  of  daylight  the  Union  legions  could  have  completed  the 
destruction  of  their  opponents,  now  hurrying  in  consternation 
from  the  field.  The  dismounted  cavalry  saw  beyond  their 
reach  the  reflux  of  disordered  fugitives,  but  their  horses  were 
far  in  the  rear,  and  without  them  they  were  unable  to  pursue. 
Croxton  was  hastily  withdrawn  from  his  outpost,  the  horses 
were  hurried  forward,  and  the  troopers  mounting  rapidly 
dashed  forward  in  pursuit,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  flying 
rebels  had  swept  beyond  the  field,  vanishing  under  the  pall 
of  impenetrable  darkness,  which  night  had  kindly  spread  for 
their  safety.  Hatch,  Croxton  and  Knipe  used  all  possible 
diligence  in  leading  their  excited  squadrons  in  pursuit,  but 
had  not  gone  more  than  two  miles  when  the  leading  regi 
ment,  Spaulding's  Twelfth  Tennessee,  ran  full  upon  Chalmers' 
cavalry  division  strongly  posted  across  the  road  behind  rail 
breastworks.  Dark  as  it  was,  without  a  moment's  hesitation 
Spaulding  led  his  men  to  the  charge,  striking  full  upon  the 
barricade,  bursting  through  it  and  falling  with  drawn  sabers 
upon  the  rebel  troops  scattering  them  like  chaflf.  The  rest 
of  Hatch's  men  soon  joined  in  the  fight;  and  now  occurred 
one  of  the  most  exciting  scenes  of  the  war.  All  order  was 

*  Twelve  decisive  battles  of  the  War. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  383 

soon  lost  in  the  pitchy  darkness,  but  each  man  fought  his 
own  battle.  Pistol  shot  and  the  din  of  saber  strokes,  inter 
mingled  with  the  shouts  of  officers,  and  the  hurrahs  of  the 
supporting  squadrons,  and  the  screams  of  the  wounded  told 
how  fiercely  the  rebels  were  struggling.  But  their  valor  was 
unavailing  to  stay  the  onset  of  the  Union  horsemen.  By  ten 
o'clock  the  fight  was  over.  The  cavalry-men  after  two  days' 
incessant  fighting  were  now  completely  exhausted,  and  soon 
sank  hungry  to  rest  upon  the  sodden  hill-sides  they  had  cap 
tured.  Early  the  next  morning  Wilson  pushed  forward  in 
pursuit,  the  bulk  of  his  forces  marching  toward  Brentwood 
closely  followed  by  Wood.  Johnson's  division  was  sent  to 
cross  the  Harpeth,  four  miles  to  the  right  of  Franklin,  and 
turning  thence  to  the  left  to  strike  the  retreating  rebels  in  flank. 
The  rebel  rear  guard  was  overtaken  at  Hollow-tree  Gap, 
where  it  attempted  to  make  a  stand,  but  Hammond's  brigade 
by  a  handsome  movement  struck  it  in  flank,  capturing  400 
prisoners  and  several  more  colors.  Shortly  afterwards  John 
son  dashed  into  Franklin,  driving  the  rebels  from  there.  This 
made  the  crossing  of  the  Harpeth  easy,  and  without  a  pause 
the  cavalry  pushed  down  the  Columbia  pike,  and  by  such 
country  roads  as  were  passable.  At  length,  just  at  nightfall, 
they  came  upon  the  rebel  rear  guard,  composed  of  Steven 
son's  division  and  two  batteries  drawn  out  in  line  of  battle, 
six  miles  south  of  Franklin. 

Wilson  pushed  Hatch  forward  at  once  on  the  left,  Knipe 
and  Hammond  on  the  right,  and  his  own  escort,  the  gallant 
Fourth  United  States  Cavalry,  down  the  pike  in  a  headlong 
charge.  The  rebel  batteries  opened  with  grape  and  can 
ister,  but  before  they  could  load  again  the  regulars  had 
burst  upon  them,  and  ridden  through  them  like  a  whirl-wind. 
Simultaneously  Hatch  and  Knipe  rushed  upon  the  rebel 
flanks,  sweeping  everything  before  them.  Another  exciting 
night  fight  took  place,  during  which  a  number  of  prisoners 
and  a  battery  were  captured  by  Colonel  Beaumont  and  Cap 
tain  Andrews  of  Wilson's  staff,  aided  by  General  Hatch  and 
a  few  orderlies.  General  Hammond  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 


334  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Gresham  on  the  extreme  right,  crossed  the  West  Harpeth 
and  fell  upon  the  flank  of  the  retreating  rebel  column,  but 
after  losing  most  of  their  little  band  in  a  gallant  charge,  they 
rejoined  the  main  force.  At  ten  o'clock  a  halt  was  called, 
and  the  weary  troopers  permitted  to  bivouac. 

The  next  day,  the  18th  of  December,  the  pursuit  was 
resumed  before  dawn,  and  by  night  had  reached  Ruther 
ford's  Creek,  three  miles  north  of  Columbia.  It  had  been 
raining  all  day  heavily,  and  much  of  the  day  before ;  the 
bridges  were  all  down,  the  railroad  bridge  destroyed,  and 
the  creek  running  a  perfect  torrent.  The  cavalry  had  no 
pontoons,  and  the  train  which  had  been  hastily  improvised 
at  Nashville,  was  floundering  laboriously  forward,  upon  a 
road  already  overcrowded  by  troops  and  wagons.  The 
rebels  had  already  crossed  Duck  Eiver,  (now  deep  enough 
to  float  the  "  Great  Eastern,")  and  taken  up  their  bridge. 
The  pursuers  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  stay  their  advance 
till  bridges  could  be  built.  This  stream  once  delayed  Buell's 
entire  army  for  ten  days,  but  Thomas  crossed  it  in  less 
than  three,  and  that  in  midwinter  under  the  most  unfavorable 
circumstances.  Hood  had  availed  himself  of  the  time  thus 
providentially  given  to  him  to  hurry  his  army  towards  the 
Tennessee,  leaving  a  strong  rear  guard  of  eight  brigades — 
5,000  men,  under  Forrest  to  cover  his  flight. 

The  pursuit  was  resumed  at  the  earliest  moment  and 
pressed  with  ceaseless  activity,  but  the  rebels  could  not 
again  be  brought  to  a  stand  long  enough  for  decisive  meas 
ures.  The  country  south  from  Duck  River  is  broken,  sterile, 
and  heavily  timbered,  and  at  that  time  of  year  it  was  utterly 
impassable  for  cavalry  except  along  the  turnpike,  and  main 
country  roads.  The  weather  was  as  bad  as  could  be,  alter 
nating  with  rain,  sleet,  snow  and  frost.  Both  horses  and  men 
suffered  greatly ;  neither  forage  nor  rations  could  be  obtained, 
but  still  the  pursuit  was  kept  up,  till  the  29th  of  December, 
on  which  day  the  advanced  guard  under  Spaulding  reached 
the  Tennessee  at  Bainbridge,  just  in  time  to  see  the  rebel 
pontoons  swung  to  the  other  side. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  335 

Thomas  had  urged  the  pursuit  unceasingly,*  sending  Steed- 
man  by  rail  to  Decatur  so  as  to  cross  the  river  and  to  cut  off 
Hood's  retreat,  and  Colonel  W.  J.  Palmer  with  a  small  bri 
gade  of  Johnson's  division  of  cavalry,  to  follow  and  harass 
him  after  he  had  crossed  into  Alabama.  The  latter  suc 
ceeded  in  overtaking  the  rear  guard  at  Russellville,  where 
he  destroyed  the  rebel  pontoon  train  of  200  wagons  and  78 
boats.  Pushing  on  towards  Aberdeen,  he  overtook  and  de 
stroyed  a  supply-train,  burning  110  wagons  and  killing  the 
mules.  About  the  same  time  a  raid  from  Memphis,  under 
Grierson  and  Winslow  succeeded  in  striking  the  railroad 
leading  south  from  Corinth  and  in  breaking  it  up  effect 
ually.  Hood's  defeat  was  accompanied  by  another  rebel 
disaster  in  the  Western  theatre.  On  the  13th  of  November, 
Breckenridge  defeated  Gillem  near  Morristown,  in  East 
Tennessee,  capturing  his  artillery  and  several  hundred  prison 
ers  ;  whereupon,  Thomas  acting  under  Grant's  instructions, 
ordered  Stoneman,  now  temporarily  in  command  of  the  De 
partment  of  the  Ohio,  to  gather  all  the  available  forces  and 
march  against  Breckenridge,  Vaughan  and  Duke,  (Morgan's 
successors,)  driving  them  into  Virginia  if  possible,  and  de 
stroying  the  extensive  salt-works  at  Saltville.  By  rapid 
marching  and  hard  fighting,  Stoneman  executed  the  task 
assigned  him.  Gillem,  commanding  a  part  of  his  forces,  de 
feated  Duke  at  Kingsport,  and  Vaughan  at  Marion.  Breck 
enridge  was  driven  into  North  Carolina,  the  salt-works  were 
destroyed  and  the  railroads  broken  up.  Thus  ended  Davis' 
reconquest  of  Tennessee.  Instead  of  reaching  the  Ohio,  his 
troops  had  beaten  vainly  "  against  Thomas,  the  Rock  of 
Chickamauga,"  and  bore  backward  the  battle-stained  flags  of 
defeat.  Instead  of  receiving  "  30,000  brave  Tennesseeans  " 
into  their  ranks,  they  left  dead  or  in  hospitals  10,000  men, 
losing  besides,  13,189  prisoners,  including  8  Generals,  72 
pieces  of  artillery,  and  many  colors. 

*  "  The  wisdom  of  Thomas  in  delaying  attack  in  order  to  mount  his  cavalry, 
approved  itself,  for  never  before  in  the  war  had  grand  victory  been  so  energet 
ically  followed  by  pursuit."  Twelve  decisive  battles  of  the  war — Nashville. 


386  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Moreover,  during  the  campaign,  Thomas'  Provost  Marshal 
received  2,200  deserters.  The  original  army  had  vanished, 
and  the  entire  West  was  lost  forever  to  the  rebellion.  The 
broken  and  dispirited  remnant  of  Hood's  50,000  were  re 
turned  to  Johnston's  command,  and  reappeared  again  the 
next  spring  in  the  fitful  effort  which  that  officer  made  to  stay 
ihe  progress  of  Sherman's  northward  march  through  the 
Carolinas. 

Thomas  now  prepared  to  give  his  army  rest,  but  under 
Grant's  supreme  control  winter  quarters  were  no  longer 
allowed.  He  ordered  Thomas  to  send  Schofield  with  the 
Twenty-third  corps  to  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  while  the  cav 
alry  and  the  rest  of  the  army  were  concentrated  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Tennessee  preparatory  to  pushing  forward  into 
Central  Alabama.  A  few  weeks'  later  Smith's  corps  and 
Knipe's  division  of  cavalry  were  sent  to  assist  Canby  in  the 
campaign  of  Mobile,  while  Wood  was  started  toward  East 
Tennessee  for  the  purpose  of  penetrating  to  Lynchburg. 

Wilson  gathered  the  cavalry  fiom  all  directions,  and  by  the 
1st  of  March  had  in  camp  17,000  men,  12,000  of  whom  were 
supplied  with  Spencer  carbines  and  good  horses.  With  this 
splendid  force,  well-drilled,  well-organized  and  admirably 
commanded  he  was  finally  turned  loose  to  finish  the  work  of 
destruction  and  conquest. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

EXPEDITION  AGAINST  WILMINGTON — SAILING  OF  THE  FLEET — THE 
ARRIVAL  AT  THE  RENDEZVOUS — EXPLOSION  OF  THE  HULK — BUTLER 
THINKS  THE  WORKS  TOO  STRONG — GRANT  DECIDES  TO  MAKE  A  NEW 
ATTEMPT — GENERAL  TERRY  ASSIGNED  TO  COMMAND — THE  ATTACK 
UPON  FORT  FISHER*— GALLANTRY  OF  SAILORS  AND  SOLDIERS — AR 
RIVAL  OF  GENERAL  SCHOFIELD — THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NORTH 
CAROLINA — SHERMAN  MARCHES  NORTHWARD  —  THE  DESTRUCTION 
OF  COLUMBIA  —  HAMPTON'S  CRIMINALITY  —  THE  ENEMY  CONCEN 
TRATED  UNDER  JOHNSTON — FIGHT  NEAR  BENTONSVILLE — JUNC 
TION  OF  SHERMAN  AND  SCHOFIELD  AT  GOLDSBORO — STONEMAN'S 
MOVEMENTS — WILSON  BEGINS  AN  ACTIVE  CAMPAIGN — CAPTURE 
OF  SELMA — THE  ARMISTICE  —  CAPTURE  OF  JEFF.  DAVIS  —  CANBY'S 
MOVEMENTS  —  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  MOBILE. 

THE  most  important  seaport  yet  remaining  to  the  rebels 
was  Wilmington,  near  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River.  Into 
this  safe  and  capacious  harbor,  with  its  wide  entrance,  the 
Confederate  cruisers  and  blockade  runners  were  accustomed 
to  pass  in  spite  of  all  the  navy  could  do  to  keep  them  out. 
Arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing  were  carried  in  to  be 
exchanged  for  cotton.  The  Government  had  long  been 

O  O 

anxious  to  break  up  this  business,  and  during  the  winter 
arranged  for  a  combined  land  and  naval  expedition,  having 
that  object  in  view.  The  Lieutenant-General  was  called 
upon  to  furnish  the  co-operating  land  forces,  and  had  made 
his  dispositions  for  sending  them  to  Fortress  Monroe,  when 
the  object  of  the  concentration  of  transports  and  naval  vessels 
at  that  place  became  known  to  the  public  press,  and  caused 
the  expedition  to  be  deferred.  Late  in  November,  however, 
it  was  determined  that  it  should  be  reassembled  and  dis 
patched  at  once.  General  Grant  went  to  Hampton  Roads, 
22 


338  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

for  the  purpose  of  consulting  with  Admiral  Porter,  who  had 
co-operated  so  effectively  with  him  on  the  Mississippi,  and 
after  a  conference,  it  was  decided  that  6,500  men  should  be 
sent,  and  that  the  expedition  should  sail  early  in  December. 
On  the  30th  of  November,  General  Grant  learned  that  Bragcr 

oo 

who  had  been  commanding  in  North  Carolina,  had  taken 
most  of  his  forces  to  Georgia  for  the  purpose  of  joining 
Hardee  and  making  head  against  Sherman;  thinking  that 
the  time  had  now  come  to  strike  the  long  contemplated  blow, 
he  designated  General  Weitzel  to  command  the  land  forces, 
and  directed  General  Butler,  commanding  the  Department, 
to  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements  for  sending  them 
forward  without  delay.  On  the  6th  of  December  he  wrote  : 
"  The  first  object  of  the  expedition  under  General  Weitzel  is 
to  close  to  the  enemy  the  port  of  Wilmington.  If  successful 
in  this,  the  second  will  be  to  capture  Wilmington  itself." 

The  instructions  were  sent  through  General  Butler,  and  he 
was  expected  to  arrange  the  details,  furnish  all  assistance 
and  supplies  required,  but  not  to  accompany  the  expedition. 
Much  delay  occurred,  but  finally  on  the  13th  of  December, 
the  armada,  with  Butler  himself  in  command,  sailed  for  the 
place  of  rendezvous,  where  it  arrived  on  the  15th.  Rough 
weather  intervening,  and  the  naval  fleet  not  being  ready,  the 
attack  was  delayed  several  days.  On  the  morning  of  the 
24th,  a  hulk,  laden  with  gunpowder,  was  run  close  in  under 
the  guns  of  Fort  Fisher,  and  exploded  with  the  expectation 
of  shattering  the  rebel  works ;  "  but,"  says  General  Grant, 
"  it  would  seem  from  the  notice  taken  of  it  in  the  Southern 
newspapers,  that  the  enemy  were  never  enlightened  as  to  the 
object  of  the  explosion,  until  they  were  informed  of  it  by  the 
Northern  press."  * 

On  the  25th  the  fleet  stood  up  to  the  coast  and  a  landing 
was  effected  without  opposition.  A  reconnoissance  was  sent 

*The  origination  of  this  novel  expedient  lies  between  Admiral  Porter 
and  General  Butler,  who  procured  from  the  Navy  Department  and  the  War 
Department  the  powder  requisite  for  the  purpose.  The  Navy  Department, 
however,  furnished  the  greater  part  of  it. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  339 

out  under  Gen.  Curtis,  and  an  examination  of  the  rebel  works 
was  made  by  General  Weitzel.  Thinking  them  too  strong 
to  be  carried  by  assault  or  reduced  by  the  navy,  General 
Butler  ordered  the  reembarkation  of  his  troops  and  returned 
to  Fortress  Monroe.  It  seems  that  he  had  not  been  able  to 
agree  with  Admiral  Porter  in  regard  to  the  plan  of  opera 
tions  ;  at  all  events  they  had  not  acted  harmoniously. 

Grant's  instructions  were  framed  with  the  express  inten 
tion  of  shutting  the  entrance  to  Wilmington,  and  therefore 
did  not  contemplate  the  return  of  the  expedition  till  that 
object  had  been  fully  accomplished.  He  was,  consequently, 
much  chagrined  when  he  received  notice  that  it  had  returned 
to  Hampton  Roads.  A  few  days  afterwards,  having  been 
informed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  Admiral  Porter, 
that  the  naval  squadron  was  still  off  Fort  Fisher,  confident 
of  its  ability  to  take  the  place  with  the  aid  of  land  forces 
properly  commanded,  he  determined  to  make  a  new  attempt, 
but  this  time  under  a  different  leader.  Adding  a  brigade  of 

c5  O 

1500  men  and  a  small  siege-train  to  the  original  force,  he 
assigned  General  Alfred  II.  Terry  to  the  command,  giving 
him  subsequently  the  same  instructions  that  he  had  given  to 
Butler,  containing  the  following  judicious  counsel : 

"It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  the  most  complete  understanding 
should  exist  between  yourself  and  the  Naval  commander.  I  suggest, 
therefore,  that  you  consult  with  Admiral  Porter  freely,  and  get  from 
him  the  part  to  be  performed  by  each  branch  of  the  public  service,  so 
that  there  may  be  unity  of  action.  It  would  be  well  to  have  the  whole 
programme  laid  down  in  writing.  I  have  served  with  Admiral  Porter, 
and  know  that  you  can  rely  on  his  judgment  and  his  nerve,  to  under 
take  what  he  proposes.  I  would  therefore  defer  to  him  as  much  as  is 
consistent  with  your  own  responsibilities.  The  first  object  to  be 
attained,  is  to  get  a  firm  position  on  the  spit  of  land  on  which  Fort 
Fisher  is  built,  from  which  you  can  operate  against  that  fort.  You 
want  to  look  to  the  practicability  of  receiving  your  supplies,  and  to 
defending  yourself  against  superior  forces,  which  may  be  sent  against 
you  by  any  of  the  avenues  left  open  to  the  enemy.  If  such  a  position  can 
be  obtained,  the  siege  of  Fort  Fisher  will  not  be  abandoned  until  its  reduc 
tion  is  accomplished,  or  another  plan  of  campaign  is  ordered  from  these 
head-quarters." 


840  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Every  precaution  was  taken  to  provide  this  expedition 
against  failure.  Other  troops  were  prepared  and  held  at 
Fort  Monroe,  in  readiness  to  go  forward,  should  an  emer 
gency  require  it.  General  Grant  also  sent  his  aid-de-camp, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Comstock,  an  experienced  engineer  of  the 
regular  army,  to  accompany  General  Terry.  The  expedition 
sailed  on  the  6th  of  January,  (1865,)  reaching  its  destination 
two  days  thereafter,  but  owing  to  a  stress  of  weather,  the 
landing  was  not  effected  till  the  13th.  The  next  day  the 
rebel  fort  was  closely  reconnoitered,  while  one  of  its  detached 
works  was  taken  possession  of,  and  made  to  protect  Union 
soldiers  during  the  succeeding  operations.  Terry  and  Porter 
acting  in  perfect  accord,  pushed  forward  their  arrangements 
with  great  earnestness.  The  plan  of  operations  agreed  upon, 
was  that  the  navy  should  silence  the  rebel  guns  by  a  concen 
trated  fire  from  the  different  vessels,  and  this  being  done,  the 
land  forces,  aided  by  the  marines  and  a  brigade  of  sailors, 
should  assault  the  entrenchments.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan 
the  fleet  steamed  in  to  the  attack  in  three  columns,  and  at  a 
quarter  before  seven  o'clock,  on  the  15th,  began  a  terrific 
cannonade,  which  was  continued  without  intermission  for  six 
hours,  after  the  expiration  of  which  time  the  enemy's  guns 
were  silenced.  The  sailors  and  marines,  under  the  command 
of  Fleet-Captain  Breese,  were  landed  in  the  meantime,  and 
at  the  given  signal  moved  forward  in  handsome  style  against 
the  water  face  of  the  rebel  fort,  while  the  land  forces,  con 
sisting  of  the  division  of  General  Ames,  assaulted  from  the 
rear.  Paine's  division  of  colored  troops,  and  Abbott's  bri 
gade  of  white,  held  a  line  across  the  spit  of  land,  between  the 
fort  and  Wilmington,  for  the  purpose  of  covering  the  assault 
ing  columns  from  all  interruption  likely  to  be  attempted  in 
that  quarter. 

The  fort  was  held  by  about  2,500  men,  and  was  admirably 
arranged  with  ditch  and  palisade,  parapet  and  traverse  on  all 
sides.  The  sailors  found  the  water  front  too  strong  to  be 
carried,  but  succeeded  in  attracting  more  than  a  fair  share  of 
rebel  attention  to  themselves ;  this  was  favorable  to  the  oper- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  341 

atlons  of  Ames,  who  gallantly  led  his  column  forward  to  the 
line  of  bristling  palisades  which  barred  his  progress  till  his 
hardy  men  had  cut  them  down.  Then  nobly  seconded  by 
Curtis,  Pennypacker  and  Bell,  his  brigade  commanders,  the 
gallant  Ames  cheered  his  veterans  through  the  ditch  and  soon 
made  a  lodgment  upon  the  western  end  of  the  principal  face 
of  the  work.  The  rebels  fought  bravely,  contesting  every 
foot  of  ground  till  after  nightfall,  but  all  to  no  purpose,  for 
though  their  assailants  were  led  by  a  General  upon  whose 
face  the  beard  had  scarcely  yet  begun  to  grow,  they  found  him 
as  intrepid  as  Latour  d'Auvergne,  and  as  inexorable  as  fate.* 
Victory  at  last  rested  upon  the  national  standards,  but  not 
till  955  men  and  officers  had  been  killed  and  wounded.  The 
next  day  the  enemy  abandoned  Fort  Caswell  and  Bald  Head 
battery,  opposite  Fort  Fisher,  thus  giving  the  Union  forces 
complete  control  of  the  entrance  to  Cape  Fear  River. 

In  pursuance  of  the  Lieutenant-General's  vigorous  policy, 
Terry  began  his  movement  against  Wilmington  at  once,  but 
meeting  with  more  opposition  from  the  rebel  commander, 
Iloke,  than  he  was  able  to  overcome,  he  was  compelled  to 
desist  till  joined  by  re-enforcements.  On  the  15th  of  Febru 
ary  General  Schofield  arrived  from  the  West,  and  after 
receiving  instructions  from  General  Grant  assumed  com 
mand.  Without  hesitation  that  skillful  officer  prepared  to 
resume  active  operations.  On  the  16th  he  transferred  Cox's 
division  of  the  Twenty-third  corps  to  Smith ville,  on  the  west 
bank  of  Cape  Fear  River,  with  orders  to  move  upon  the  rear 
of  Fort  Anderson,  while  the  men-of-war  should  attack  it  in 
front.  Cox  carried  out  his  orders  with  admirable  precision, 
and  was  ready  for  the  assault  when  the, rebels  evacuated  the 
fort  and  retired  to  Wilmington.  He  then  crossed  Brunswick 
River,  to  Eagle  Island,  turning  the  defenses  of  the  Peninsula, 
and  causing  the  rebels  in  Schofield's  front  to  fall  rapidly 
back.  On  the  22d  of  February,  Schofield  took  possession  of 
Wilmington,  the  rebels  having  been  forced  to  evacuate  t!ie 

*  General  Ames,  the  actual  Commander  of  the  assaulting  division  and  the 
hero  of  Fort  Fisher,  was  a  cadet  at  West  Point  when  the  war  broke  out. 


342  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

place  the  night  before,  after  burning  their  rosin,  cotton,  and 
military  stores. 

Grant  immediately  erected  North  Carolina  into  a  Depart 
ment,  and  assigned  Schofield  to  the  command,  ordering  him 
to  report  to  Sherman  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  with 
him,  in  the  northward  movements,  about  to  begin.  Before 
the  campaign  from  Wilmington  opened  he  gave  General 
Schofield  the  following  written  instructions  : 

*  *  *  *  «  Goldsboro  will  be  your  objective  point,  moving  either 
from  Wilmington  or  Newbern,  or  both,  as  you  deem  best.  Should  you 
not  be  able  to  reach  Goldsboro,  you  will  advance  on  the  line  or  lines 
of  railway  connecting  that  place  with  the  sea-coast,  as  near  to  it  as  you 
can,  building  the  road  behind  you.  The  enterprise  under  you  has  two 
objects :  the  first  is  to  give  Sherman  material  aid,  if  needed,  in  his  march 
North ;  the  second,  to  open  a  base  of  supplies  for  him  on  his  line  of 
march.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  you  can  determine  which  of  the  two 
points, — Wilmington  or  Newbern, — you  can  best  use  for  throwing  sup 
plies  from  to  the  interior,  you  will  commence  the  accumulation  of 
twenty  days'  rations,  and  forage  for  60,000  men  and  20,000  animals. 
You  will  get  of  these  as  many  as  you  can  house  and  protect  to  such 
points  in  the  interior  as  you  may  be  able  to  occupy.  I  believe  Gen 
eral  Palmer  has  received  some  instructions  direct  from  General  Sher 
man  on  the  subject  of  securing  supplies  for  his  army.  You  can  learn 
what  steps  he  has  taken,  and  be  governed  in  your  requisitions  accord 
ingly.  A  supply  of  ordnance-stores  will  also  be  necessary.  *  *  *  * 
The  movements  of  the  enemy  may  justify  you,  or  even  make  it  your 
imperative  duty,  to  cut  loose  from  your  base,  and  strike  for  the  interior 
to  aid  Sherman.  In  such  case  you  will  act  upon  your  own  judgment, 
without  waiting  for  instructions.  You  will  report,  however,  what  you 
propose  doing.  The  details  for  carrying  out  these  instructions  are 
necessarily  left  to  you.  I  would  urge,  however,  if  I  did  not  know  that 
you  are  already  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  it,  prompt  action. 
Sherman  may  be  looked  for  in  the  neighborhood  of  Goldsboro  any 
time  from  the  22d  to  the  28th  of  February.  This  limits  your  time  very 
materially." 

When  Sherman  arrived  at  Savannah,  the  question  natu 
rally  arose  as  to  what  should  be  his  future  destination.  His 
grand  march  to  the  sea  had  simply  demonstrated  the  practi 
cability  of  whatever  movement  he  might  be  ordered  to  make. 
To  co-operate  with  the  army  in  Virginia  was  clearly  the 


LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT.  343 

object  of  all  that  had  been  done  or  yet  remained  to  do,  but 
whether  Sherman  should  be  brought  with  his  troops  by  sea 
to  City  Point,  and  form  a  junction  with  the  armies  operat 
ing  about  Petersburg,  or  be  directed  to  march  northward 
through  the  Carolinas,  was  not  at  first  so  clear.  Grant 
favored  the  former  idea,  but  on  further  investigation  it  was 
found  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  a  sufficient  number  of 
sea-worthy  transports ;  and  as  it  would  have  been  dangerous 
to  trust  so  large  an  army  to  the  mercy  of  the  Atlantic  at 
that  time  of  the  year,  even  in  good  vessels,  Grant  counter 
manded  his  first  order,  and  after  hearing  Sherman's  views, 
instructed  him  to  lead  his  army  into  the  interior  again,  where 
difficult  roads,  numerous  rivers,  and  flooded  marshes  were  yet 
to  be  overcome.  The  Lieutenant-General  was  confirmed  in 
his  final  judgment,  by  the  fear,  now  becoming  prevalent,  that 
Lee  would  abandon  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  throw 
himself  into  the  interior  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  with 
Johnston,  and  gathering  the  remnants  of  the  rebel  forces  into 
one  powerful  army,  with  which  to  continue  the  war.  It  was 
Grant's  principal  desire,  now,  as  heretofore,  to  destroy  Lee's 
army  and  not  to  dislodge  it, — to  overwhelm  the  armed  forces, 
of  the  rebellion,  not  to  scatter  them  into  distant  regions  or 
drive  them  to  mountain  fastnesses,  where,  by  resorting  to  guer 
rilla  warfare,  they  might  prolong  the  struggle  indefinitely. 
He  therefore  determined  to  close  all  lines  of  retreat,  and 
block  all  routes  of  communication ;  concentrating  from  all 
quarters  upon  Richmond  and  Petersburg.  Sherman's  orders 
were  implied  rather  than  specifically  stated ;  for  Grant  well 
knew  that  his  trusty  lieutenant  would  leave  nothing  in  his 
track  that  could  benefit  the  rebel  cause.  When  Grant  visited 
Knoxville,  after  the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  patriotic  citizens 
of  that  region,  while  praying  for  peace,  expressed  the  hope 
that  it  might  never  come  till  Sherman  had  marched  through 
South  Carolina  as  he  had  through  East  Tennessee. 

They  wished  that  State  to  feel  some  cf  the  pangs  that 
they  had  felt,  and  to  realize  in  its  own  homes  and  at  its  own 
firesides  a  taste  of  the  manifold  horrors  that  it  h.  d  so  rashly 


344  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

called  down  upon  the  country.  With  a  severe  sense  of  re 
tributive  justice,  Sherman's  veterans  were  impatient  for  the 
march,  and  when  they  heard  "the  forward,"  sprang  out  with 
an  alacrity  never  surpassed  in  war.  It  was  intended  that 
the  northward  march  should  begin  on  the  15th  of  January, 
and  on  that  day  the  Seventeenth  corps,  General  Blair  com 
manding,  was  sent  by  water  from  Savannah  to  Hilton  Head, 
and  thence  to  Pocotaligo,  for  the  purpose  of  menacing 
Charleston,  while  Slocum,  with  Kilpatrick's  cavalry,  moved 
up  the  Savannah  River  towards  Sister's  Ferry,  threatening 
Augusta.  But  heavy  rains  now  set  in,  and  continued  for  a 
fortnight  almost  without  intermission.  The  rivers  became 
flooded,  the  bottoms  and  swamps  overflowed,  and  the  roads 
impassable,  and  hence  the  movement  was  delayed.  In  the 
meantime,  Grover's  division  of  the  Nineteenth  corps  reached 
Savannah  and  relieved  Sherman's  troops  of  their  charge. 
The  rains  having  abated,  the  entire  army  was  put  in  motion 
on  the  1st  of  February,  pointing  nearly  due  northward. 
Slocum,  with  the  left  column,  moved  upon  Barnwell,  while 
the  right  wing,  crossing  the  Salkehatchie  and  Combahee, 
pushed  rapidly  for  the  Edisto.  The  rebels  believed  it  im 
possible  for  Sherman  to  make  his  way  with  such  an  army 
through  their  swamps  even  if  unopposed,  but  to  make  his 
task  still  more  difficult,  the  Governor  called  all  the  male 
population  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty,  to  arms, 
and  put  the  negroes  to  work  felling  trees  and  breaking  up 
bridges. 

"Wheeler's  troopers  hovered  about  the  Union  columns, 
while  small  detachments  of  infantry  were  sent  to  dispute  the 
passage  of  the  Edisto  and  Congaree,  but  these  feeble  efforts 
were  of  no  avail  against-  the  confident  battalions  from  the 
fields  of  Donelson,  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta.  Steadily  these 
men  of  the  West  pressed  forward,  tearing  up  railroads,  burn 
ing  cotton,  seizing  bridges,  and  fighting  when  necessary.  Or- 
angeburg  was  reached,  then  Columbia  by  a  brilliant  maneuver, 
thus  sealing  the  fate  of  Charleston  and  Fort  Sumter,  and  the 
other  dependencies  of  that  stubborn  city.  Columbia  was 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  345 

almost  entirely  destroyed,  not  by  Sherman's  fault,  but  through 
the  criminal  negligence  of  Hampton  and  the  rebel  cavalry, 
who  set  fire  to  the  cotton  in  the  streets.     Similar  destruction 
took  place  in  Charleston,  where  there  were  no  national  soldiers 
to  bear  the  blame.     The  rebels  seemed  utterly  bereft  of  rea 
son,  and  with  passionate  ardor  consigned  their  choicest  posses 
sions  to  the  flames,  forgetting  that  they  were  adding  to  their 
own  cup  of  bitterness,  and  in  no  way  injuring  the  national 
cause.     Indeed,  wherever  they  manifested  the  slightest  dispo 
sition  to  destroy,  Sherman  and  his  entire  army  lent  their 
willing  aid,  so  that  between  them  both,  the  Carolinas  were 
swept  with  a  besom  of  destruction  from  the  Savannah  to  the 
Roanoke,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Alleghanies.     A  wide 
sweep  to  the  westward,  and  a  hurrying  march  from  the  Yad- 
kin  to  the  Cape  Fear  River  brought  Sherman  to  Fayette- 
ville  on  the  llth  of  March.     His  army  concentrated  there 
the  next  day,  and  receiving  news  from  Schofield  of  what 
had   happened  during   the  six  weeks  of  their  campaigning, 
were  permitted   to  rest  for  the  brief  period   of  three  days. 
Hardee    from    Savannah  and   Charleston,  Beauregard   from 
Columbia,  Cheatham  from  Tennessee,  Bragg  and  Hoke  from 
Wilmington,  Hampton  from  Richmond  and   Wheeler   from 
Atlanta,  all  under  the  command  of  Johnston,  had  finally  been 
concentrated  into  one  army  not  less  than  50,000  strong  by 
Sherman's  unheeding  advance,  and  were  now   prepared   to 
dispute  his  further  progress.     Renewing  his  northward  march 
Sherman  demonstrated  with  the  cavalry  and  Slocum's  com 
mand    heavily    towards    Averysborough,    while    he    threw 
forward  the  rest  of  the  army,  on  the  direct  road  to  Goldsboro. 
Slocum  and   the  cavalry  encountered    Hardee,  and   after  a 
severe  battle,  drove  him  from  the   field  in  the  direction  of 
Bentonsville.      Johnston  who  was  then  at   Smithfield,  per 
ceiving  that  the  Union  army  was  divided,  concentrated  his 
forces  and  threw  them  rapidly  upon  Slocum,  hoping  to  crush 
him  before  Sherman  could  reach  the  field.     The  advance  was 
suddenly  attacked,  and  after  a  sharp  fight  driven  back,  but 
in  a  short  time  Slocum  had  posted  his  entire  force  in  order  of 


346  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

battle,  and  successfully  resisted  the  hostile  onset.  Sherman, 
hearing  the  firing  in  the  direction  of  Bentonsville,  hurried 
thither,  and  by  the  next  morning  had  strengthened  Slocum 
sufficiently  to  justify  a  renewal  of  the  offensive.  The  entire 
army  was  now  concentrated  in  Johnston's  front,  but  knowing 
that  Schofield  and  Terry  were  moving  rapidly  towards 
Goldsboro,  thus  menacing  Johnston's  line  of  retreat,  Sherman 
was  anxious  not  to  make  a  general  attack  too  soon,  for  fear 
the  enemy  might  fall  back  without  risking  a  decisive  engage 
ment.  He  therefore  made  a  noisy  demonstration  in  front  and 
maneuvered  to  get  possession  of  the  rebel  line  of  retreat. 
But  Johnston  was  too  wary  to  be  caught  in  such  a  trap,  and 
during  the  next  night  fell  back  rapidly  to  Smithfield  and 
Raleigh,  leaving  his  pickets,  and  killed  and  wounded  behind. 
Sherman's  loss  here  was  1,643  killed,  wounded  and  mi-ssing, 
and  Johnston's  nearly  2,000,  of  whom  1,600  were  prisoners, 
many  of  them  severely  wounded.  Sherman  now  pushed  on 
rapidly  to  Goldsboro,  reaching  that  place  on  the  23d  of 
March,  resting  and  reclothing  his  army,  and  forming  a  junc 
tion  with  Schofield  and  Terry.  On  the  27th  of  March,  he 
himself  arrived  at  City  Point  whither  he  had  been  called  for 
the  purpose  of  conferring  with  the  President  and  General 
Grant. 

The  operations  in  the  Carolinas  were  but*  a  part  of  the 
comprehensive  scheme  which  Grant  had  formed  for  the  final 
campaign  against  the  rebellion.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
he  had  directed  Thomas,  after  sending  Schofield  to  the 
Atlantic  sea-board,  to  concentrate  the  remainder  of  his  availa 
ble  infantry  in  East  Tennessee,  with  the  view  of  marching 
into  Virginia  by  the  way  of  Abingdon  and  Lynchburg.  He 
also  instructed  him  to  send  a  cavalry  column  under  Stone- 
man  into  the  Carolinas,  to  break  the  railroads  at  Columbia, 
Charlotte  and  Salisbury,  destroy  the  rebel  resources,  and 
release  our  prisoners ;  but  Stoneman  was  so  slow  in  prepar 
ing  his  command  for  the  field,  that  Grant,  in  anticipation  of 
Lee's  retreating  towards  South-western  Virginia,  finally 
changed  his  destination  to  Lynchburg.  Before  reaching  that 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  347 

place,  however,  Stoneman,  who  had  already  devoted  a  good 
deal  of  time  to  destroying  the  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia 
Railroad,  turned  towards  North  Carolina,  reaching  Boone  on 
the  1st  of  April.  He  then  pushed  across  the  mountains  to 
"Wilkesboro  on  the  Yadkin,  where  he  found  an  abundance  of 
supplies,  but  tarrying  only  a  short  time,  he  turned  north 
ward,  and  went  into  South-western  Virginia,  capturing 
Wytheville  and  breaking  up  the  railroad  to  within  four  miles 
of  Lynchburg.  Concentrating  his  command,  he  now  turned 
southward  a  second  time,  and  penetrated  North  Carolina  by 
the  way  of  Jacksonville  and  Taylorsville.  After  destroying 
the  manufactories  at  Salem  and  breaking  up  the  Danville 
Railroad,  he  pushed  on  to  Salisbury,  which  place  he  captured 
on  the  10th  of  April,  taking  14  guns  and  1300  prisoners. 

On  the  14th  of  February  the  Lieutenant-General  wrote  to 
General  Thomas  as  follows  : 

"  Gen.  Canby  is  preparing  a  movement  from  Mobile  Bay  against  Mo 
bile  and  the  interior  of  Alabama.  His  force  will  consist  of  about  20,000 
men,  besides  A.  J.  Smith's  command.  The  cavalry  you  have  sent  to 
Canby  will  be  debarked  at  Vicksburg.  It,  with  the  available  cavalry 
already  in  that  section,  will  move  from  there  eastward  in  co-operation. 
Hood's  army  has  been  terribly  reduced  by  the  severe  punishment  you 
gave  it  in  Tennessee,  by  desertion  consequent  upon  their  defeat,  and  now 
by  the  withdrawal  of  many  of  them  to  oppoee  Sherman.  (I  take  it,  a 
large  portion  of  the  infantry  has  been  so  withdrawn.  It  is  so  asserted  in 
the  Richmond  papers,  and  a  member  of  the  rebel  Congress  said,  a  few- 
days  since,  in  a  speech,  that  over  half  of  it  had  been  brought  to  South 
Carolina  to  oppose  Sherman.)  This  being  true,  or  even  if  it  is  not  true, 
Canby's  movement  will  attract  all  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  and  leave 
the  advance  from  your  stand-point  easy.  I  think  it  advisable,  there 
fore,  that  you  prepare  as  much  of  a  cavalry  force  as  you  can  spare,  and 
hold  it  in  readiness  to  go  South.  The  object  would  be  threefold, — first, 
to  attract  as  much  of  the  enemy's  force  as  possible,  to  insure  success  to 
Canby  ;  second,  to  destroy  the  enemy's  line  of  communication  and  mili 
tary  resources ;  third,  to  destroy  or  capture  their  forces  brought  into  the 
field.  Tuscaloosa  and  Selma  would  probably  be  the  points  to  direct  the 
expeditions  against.  This,  however,  would  not  be  so  important  as  the 
mere  fact  of  penetrating  deep  into  Alabama.  Discretion  should  be  left 
to  the  officer  commanding  the  expedition  to  go  where,  according  to  the 
information  he  may  receive,  he  will  best  secure  the  objects  named  above." 


348  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

The  rest  of  his  instructions  related  to  the  time  of  starting, 
the  least  number  of  men  which  should  compose  the  expedi 
tion,  and  the  manner  of  organizing  the  troops.  Wilson's 
command  was  at  the  time  cantoned  along  the  Tennessee  River 
from  Waterloo  to  Gravelly  Springs,  and  by  a  vigorous  system 
of  drills  and  instruction  had  reached  an  efficient  state  of  or 
ganization,  and  was  ready  for  an  active  campaign  by  the  time 
specified ;  but  towards  the  end  of  February  and  during  the 
earlier  part  of  March,  a  season  of  rains  intervened,  causing 
the  Tennessee  and  all  its  tributary  streams  to  overflow  their 
banks.  As  similar  causes,  however,  delayed  Canby,  Stone- 
man  and  Sherman,  the  unity  of  the  general  plan  was  not  de 
stroyed.  On  the  22d  of  March,  the  streams  having  subsided 
and  the  weather  become  settled,  the  expedition,  consisting  of 
the  divisions  of  E.  M.  McCook,  Long,  and  Upton,  and  com 
prising  over  12,000  men  well  mounted  and  about  1500  dis 
mounted,  accompanied  by  a  light  canvass  pontoon  train, 
began  its  march.  Northern  Alabama  being  a  broken,  sterile 
region,  the  command  was  as  widely  disseminated  as  possible 
during  the  first  five  or  six  days,  in  order  that  subsistence 
and  forage  might  be  better  obtained.  The  general  course 
pursued  was  south-east,  the  columns  all  converging  upon 
Jasper1,  crossing  the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Black 
Warrior  and  passing  through  Elyton.  So  skillfully  was  the 
march  combined  that  it  was  several  days  before  the  rebel 
authorities  were  able  to  determine  whether  Columbus,  Miss., 
Tuscaloosa  or  Selma,  Ala.,  was  the  objective  point.  Forrest 
commanding  a  cavalry  department  including  all  the  menaced 
region,  was  then  at  W^est  Point,  Miss.,  but  as  soon  as  the 
movement  of  the  national  cavalry  became  fully  developed, 
he  gathered  his  forces  and  marched  with  all  possible  speed  to 
the  eastward,  his  advance  arriving  at  Montevallo  where  it 
encountered  Upton's  division  busily  engaged  in  destroying 
the  collieries,  iron  works  and  manufacturing  establishments 
in  the  neighboring  country. 

On  the  31st  of  March,  Wilson  having  dropped  all  impedi 
ments  between  the  east  and  west  forks  of  the  Black  Warrior, 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  349 

reached  Montevallo  with  the  bulk  of  his  force,  and  pushed 
Upton  at  once  against  the  enemy,  now  confronting  him  in 
some  force  under  Crossland  and  Roddy.  A  sharp  action 
took  place,  but  the  rebels  were  speedily  routed  and  driven 
from  the  field  in  the  direction  of  Selma.  Upton  dashed  for 
ward  in  pursuit,  followed  closely  by  the  rest  of  the  corps, 
and  came  up  again  with  the  enemy,  four  or  five  miles  further 
on,  when,  making  a  headlong  charge,  he  again  broke  their 
lines,  capturing  fifty  prisoners.  Night  put  an  end  to  the  pur 
suit,  fifteen  miles  south  of  Montevallo,  but  at  dawn  the  next 
morning  it  was  resumed  with  great  vigor.  At  Randolph, 
Upton  captured  a  courier  with  despatches,  from  which  it  was 
learned  that  Forrest  was  now  in  front ;  that  W.  H.  Jack 
son,  with  one  of  his  divisions,  had  crossed  the  Black  Warrior 
at  Tuscaloosa,  and  was  moving  on  Centreville  ;  that  Chal 
mers,  with  another  division,  was  at  Marion,  east  of  the 
Cahawba,  moving  towards  Selma,  and  that  Croxton,  who 
had  been  detached  by  Wilson  at  Elyton  to  take  Tuscaloosa, 
had  encountered  Jackson's  rear  at  Trion.  Shortly  after 
wards  a  note  was  received  from  Croxton,  informing  the  corps 
commander  that  he  should  postpone  his  enterprise  against 
Tuscaloosa  and  fight  Jackson,  with  the  view  of  preventing  a 
concentration  of  Forrest's  forces  in  front  of  Selma.  Wilson 
had  already  sent  a  detachment  to  seize  the  bridge  across  the 
Cahawba  at  Centreville,  and  now  detached  McCook,  with 
LaGrange's  brigade,  with  orders  to  move  rapidly  by  that 
place  to  Scottsboro,  and  assist  Croxton  in  destroying  Jack 
son.  The  march  was  made  with  great  celerity,  and  Jackson 
was  found,  but  hearing  nothing  of  Croxton,  McCook,  after  a 
sharp  skirmish,  and  the  destruction  of  a  number  of  factories, 
fell  back  to  Centreville,  destroyed  the  bridge,  and  rejoined 
Wilson  at  Selma. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Wilson  pressed  forward  with  the  main 
column  towards  the  South,  skirmishing  constantly  with 
Forrest,  and  finally  encountered  him  strongly  posted  on 
Bigler's  Creek,  north  of  Plantersville.  His  force,  consisting 
of  Roddy's,  Armstrong's,  and  Crossland's  commands,  was 


350  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

estimated  at  5,000  men.  Upton's  division,  with  Alexan 
der's  brigade  in  front,  moving  by  the  left  hand  road,  and 
Long's  division,  with  Miller's  brigade  in  front,  by  the  right 
hand,  came  upon  the  enemy  simultaneously,  and  charging 
him  with  irresistible  ardor,  drove  him  from  the  field,  taking 
three  guns  and  several  hundred  prisoners.  Forrest  himself 
narrowly  escaped  capture,  and  received  several  severe  saber 
strokes,  at  the  hands  of  Captain  Taylor,  whom  he  killed  with 
a  pistol  shot.  The  pursuit  was  pressed  vigorously  beyond 
Plantersville,  but  the  routed  rebels  could  not  be  brought  to  a 
stand  again.  By  two  o'clock  the  next  day,  Long's  advanced 
guard  came  in  sight  of  Selma,  and  by  four  p.  M.,  the  entire 
force  was  in  position  ready  to  assault  the  fortifications  by 
which  the  city  was  surrounded.  Forrest  had  gathered  be 
hind  them,  a  motley  force  consisting  of  about  7,000  men,  but 
many  of  them  were  conscripts,  and  local  militia,  composed  of 
old  men  and  boys,  ministers,  doctors,  editors,  and  judges. 
Armstrong's  brigade,  1,500  strong,  and  Crossland's,  1,000 
strong  were  his  main  reliance,  and  as  he  had  the  assistance 
of  Generals  Roddy,  Buford,  Adams,  and  Armstrong,  he  con 
sented  to  undertake  the  defense  of  the  place,  though  his 
judgment  was  against  it.  Dick  Taylor,  his  superior  in  rank, 
who  secured  his  own  safety  by  leaving  in  a  special  train  after 
the  appearance  of  the  national  cavalry,  had  given  him  posi 
tive  orders  to  hold  the  town  at  all  hazards.  A  plan  of  the 
rebel  works  had  already  been  secured,  and  after  a  reconnois- 
sance  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  its  accuracy,  the  attack 
was  ordered. 

Upton,  with  300  picked  men,  was  instructed  to  penetrate 
a  miry  swamp  covering  the  right  of  the  rebel  works,  and 
after  turning  them,  a  general  advance  was  to  be  made  by  the 
rest  of  his  division  together  with  Long's.  This  movement 
was  not  to  begin  till  after  dark ;  but  shortly  after  the  details 
had  been  arranged  for  carrying  it  out,  Chalmers'  division 
attacked  Long's  rear  guard  with  considerable  vehemence. 
Long,  therefore,  sent  a  regiment  to  re-enforce  his  rear,  and 
with  great  promptitude  threw  forward  his  dismounted  line  of 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  351 

battle,  consisting  of  1,550  men  and  officers,  led  by  Colonels 
Minty,  Miller,  McCormick  and  Briggs,  commanded  by  Long 
in  person.  Armstrong's  brigade,  of  equal  strength,  supported 
by  sixteen  guns  held  the  works  in  their  front ;  but  these  gal 
lant  veterans  sprang  forward  with  alacrity,  reserving  the  fire 
of  their  deadly  Spencers  till  within  close  range  and  then 
pouring  it  with  withering  effect.  They  clambered  over  the 
palisades,  through  the  ditch  and  over  the  rebel  parapet, 
sweeping  everything  before  them.  Upton  was  ordered  for 
ward  at  once,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  outer  line  was  ours  ; 
but  the  broken  rebels  were  rallied  within  a  partially  finished 
interior  line,  where  they  remained  till  charged  again  by  the 
Fourth  United  States  cavalry,  Fourth  Ohio  and  Seventeenth 
Indiana,  supported  by  Upton's  movement  further  to  the  left. 
Before  such  a  terrible  onset,  resistance  was  of  no  avail. 
Selma,  with  32  guns,  2,700  prisoners,  3,000  horses,  and  large 
quantities  of  military  stores  of  every  kind  was  ours.  It  was 
dark  when  the  second  line  of  works  was  carried,  and  hence 
Forrest  and  his  Generals,  with  a  large  part  of  his  force  suc 
ceeded  in  escaping. 

The  gallant  General  Long,  and  Colonels  Miller,  Briggs 
and  McCormick  and  200  men  were  wounded,  while  Colonel 
Dobbs  and  39  men  were  killed.  The  foundry,  arsenal,  and 
various  factories  were  destroyed,  and  after  tarrying  a  few 
days  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  forward  the  trains,  and 
building  a  bridge  across  the  Alabama  River,  Wilson  crossed 
to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  turned  his  columns  towards 
Montgomery.  He  had  learned  from  Forrest  that  Croxton 
had  pushed  on  towards  Demopolis,  and  perceiving  that  the 
war  was  over  in  Central  Alabama,  he  sent  a  colored  courier 
down  the  river  with  a  note,  advising  Canby  to  push  at  once 
for  the  interior.  On  the  12th  of  April,  Wilson's  leading 
division  under  McCook  entered  Montgomery  without  serious 
resistance,  and  in  a  short  time  had  hoisted  the  national  colors 
over  the  first  rebel  Capitol.  Pausing  only  long  enough  to 
destroy  the  steamboats,  cotton,  and  public  stores  found  in  the 
neighborhood,  Wilson  swept  on  towards  Georgia,  sending 


352  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

La  Grange  to  West  Point,  while  Upton  and  Minty  (now 
commanding  Long's  division)  were  directed  upon  Columbus. 
The  works  covering  the  bridges  leading  into  the  latter  place 
were  assaulted  under  cover  of  darkness  by  300  picked  men 
commanded  by  Colonel  Noble  of  the  Third  Iowa  cavalry,  on 
the  night  of  April  16th. 

Upton  and  Winslow  led  the  men  in  person,  and  after  a  sharp 
fight,  during  which  the  rebels  threw  away  large  quantities 
of  ammunition  by  an  indiscriminate  use  of  their  artillery,  the 
works  and  bridges  were  captured,  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  city 
itself  with  1,200  prisoners  and  52  guns.  Our  loss  was  barely 
24  killed  and  wounded.  La  Grange  was  quite  as  successful 
at  West  Point,  where  he  assaulted  and  took  a  strong  enclosed 
work,  containing  several  hundred  rebels  under  the  command 
of  General  Tyler,  who  was  killed.  The  garrison  of  265  men 
was  captured,  while  the  railroad  stock  from  Atlanta  and 
Montgomery,  consisting  of  19  locomotives  and  250  cars  was 
burnt.  Having  thus  secured  two  crossings  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochee,  the  exultant  cavalry-men  dashed  forward  to  Macon, 
which  place  they  captured  on  the  21st  of  April,  with  1,200 
more  prisoners,  including  Generals  Cobb,  G.  W.  Smith, 
Mackall  and  Robertson.  Wilson's  headlong  career  towards 
Virginia,  whither  he  was  hurrying  with  his  powerful  body 
of  horse  to  take  part  in  the  final  struggle,  was  stopped  at  this 
place  by  the  terms  of  the  armistice  agreed  upon  by  Sherman 
and  Johnston,  and  the  first  clear  intelligence  was  received  of 
what  had  taken  place  in  Virginia.  Croxton  who  had  doubled 
upon  his  track  and  pursued  a  more  northern  route,  fighting 
militia,  burning  bridges,  destroying  mills  and  capturing  towns, 
arrived  at  Macon  on  the  30th  of  April.  During  this  cam 
paign  of  twenty-eight  days,  the  cavalry  corps  marched  on  an 
average  525  miles,  captured  5  fortified  cities  and  22  stands  of 
colors,  280  pieces  of  artillery,  6,820  prisoners,  and  destroyed 
2  gun-boats,  99,000  stands  of  small  arms,  235,000  bales  of 
cotton,  and  all  the  mills,  collieries,  iron  works,  factories,  rail 
road  bridges,  rolling  stock  and  military  establishments,  which 
were  found  on  the  line  of  march. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  353 

Besides  this  three  regiments  of  colored  troops,  each  over 
1,000  strong,  were  organized,  armed,  and  equipped,  during 
the  halt  at  Selma.  There  was  nothing  destructible  left  be 
hind  Wilson  that  could  benefit  the  rebel  cause.  His  com 
mand  now  held  possession  of  the  granary  of  the  South,  and 
barred  the  only  road  by  which  the  rebel  President  and  his 
Cabinet  could  hope  to  escape.  In  order  to  prevent  this  and 
to  enforce  the  terms  of  the  final  capitulation,  Wilson  scat 
tered  his  command  on  a  line  from  Dalton,  Ga.,  to  St.  Marks, 
Fla.,  sent  scouts  into  all  parts  of  the  country,  stationed  de 
tachments  at  all  the  cross-roads  and  ferries,  and  succeeded  in 
capturing  Jefferson  Davis  while  endeavoring  to  escape,  dis 
guised  as  a  woman,  from  his  camp  near  Irwinsville,  Ga.,  on  the 
morning  of  the  10th  of  May.  The  actual  capture  was  made 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Benjamin  D.  Pritchard,  with  a  detach 
ment  of  the  Fourth  Michigan  cavalry,  although  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Henry  Harnden  of  the  First  Wisconsin  cavalry,  first 
discovered  the  trail,  and  followed  it  to  the  place  of  capture, 
arriving  upon  the  ground  immediately  after  the  seizure  had 
taken  place.  The  first  entirely  trustworthy  information  of 
Davis'  movements,  after  entering  Georgia,  was  obtained  by 
Lieutenant  Joseph  O.  Yeoman,  of  General  Alexander's  staff. 
This  enterprising  young  officer,  with  twenty  scouts  disguised 
in  rebel  uniforms,  joined  the  Confederate  Chief  and  his  escort 
just  after  they  crossed  the  Savannah  River,  and  accompa 
nied  them  to  Washington,  sending  information  to  General 
Alexander  every  night,  who  transmitted  it  by  telegraph  to 
head-quarters.  This  information  coupled  with  that  obtained 
from  other  sources  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  movement 
which  resulted  in  the  arrest  of  the  fugitives. 

General  Canby,  commanding  the  Military  Division  of  the 
West  Mississippi,  with  his  head-quarters  at  New  Orleans, 
had  remained  comparatively  inactive  during  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1864.  The  Thirteenth  corps,  under  General 
Granger,  had  participated  in  the  operations  by  which  the 
navy,  after  capturing  Forts  Gaines  and  Morgan,  obtained 

control  of  Mobile  Bay,  but  no  general  operations  took  place 
23 


354  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

till  March,  1865,  at  which  time,  in  pursuance  of  the  Lieuten 
ant-General's  instructions,  the  final  campaign  against  Mobile 
was  begun.  Dick  Taylor,  who  had  been  called  from  the 
trans-Mississippi  Department,  held  the  supreme  command 
in  Mississippi  and  Alabama,  and  had  concentrated  a  force  of 
about  15,000  men,  under  General  Maury,  at  Mobile.  Gen 
eral  Canby's  forces  consisted  of  the  Thirteenth  and  Sixteenth 
corps,  one  division  of  colored  infantry,  and  one  division  of 
cavalry,  in  all  about  30,000  effective  men.  Grierson,  instead 
of  moving  from  Vicksburg,  as  General  Grant  had  intended, 
was  taken  to  New  Orleans,  from  which  place  he  crossed 
Lake  Pontchartrain,  and  marched  thence  to  Mobile  Point. 
Canby's  plan  of  operations  was  exceedingly  complicated, 
owing  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  theatre  in  which  he 
was  compelled  to  operate,  but  withal,  it  was  executed  with 
great  despatch  and  regularity.  Steele,  with  a  division  of 
blacks,  marched  from  Pensacola,  towards  Blakely,  above 
Mobile ;  Granger  marched  around  Bon  Secours'  Bay,  while 
Smith's  corps  crossed  the  bay  in  transports,  and  landed  at 
Fish  River  on  the  21st  of  March.  After  waiting  two  days 
for  the  arrival  of  Granger,  who  had  taken  the  wrong  road 
and  had  been  delayed  by  rains,  the  two  corps  pushed  for 
ward,  and  on  the  27th  of  April  invested  Spanish  Fort ; 
Steele  arrived  shortly  afterwards,  and  the  next  day  the  siege 
was  regularly  begun,  by  the  construction  of  parallels,  ap 
proaches  and  batteries.  By  the  3d  of  April  the  result  was 
no  longer  doubtful ;  and  on  the  8th  our  batteries  were  opened, 
and  after  a  terrific  bombardment  throughout  the  day  suc 
ceeded  in  silencing  the  enemy's  guns.  The  fort  was  taken 
possession  of  during  the  night  by  one  of  Carr's  brigades,  act 
ing  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Geddes  and  Captain  Bluford 
"Wilson,  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  but  the  garrison,  with 
the  exception  of  about  65  men,  had  escaped.  Thirty-five 
heavy  guns  and  much  ammunition  were  left  to  the  victors. 

The  guns  were  at  once  turned  upon  batteries  Tracy  and 
Huger  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tensaw,  and  after  a  short  time 
compelled  the  rebels  to  evacuate  those  positions  also.  The 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  355 

way  for  gun-boats  was  now  opened  to  Blakely,  a  remarkably 
strong  position  overlooking  the  river,  which  had  been  invested 
several  days  before,  on  the  land  side,  and  although  it  seemed 
to  be  capable  of  indefinite  defence,  the  victorious  Union 
troops  made  short  work  of  it.  As  soon  as  the  gun-boats 
appeared  Steele  ordered  an  assault,  which  took  place  at 
half-past  five  o'clock  on  the  9th.  Garrard's  division,  sup 
ported  by  two  brigades  of  Andrews'  division  and  Dennis' 
brigade  of  Veatch's  division,  dashed  forward,  reached  the 
abattis,  and  tearing  it  away  under  a  heavy  fire  of  canister 
and  grape,  they  leaped  into  the  ditch,  clambered  up  the  scarp 
of  the  fort,  and  crossed  the  parapet  while  two  brigades 
farther  to  the  right  gained  an  entrance  and  captured  General 
Thomas  with  1,000  prisoners.  The  gallantry  of  men  and  offi 
cers  in  this  assault  was  most  conspicuous  ;  the  rebels,  with  the 
determination  to  make  their  defence  as  desperate  as  possible, 
covered  the  approaches  to  their  work  with  torpedos,  which 
exploded  as  the  assailants  pressed  forward,  and  although 
many  men  were  killed  it  did  not  intimidate  their  companions. 
Under  a  galling  fire  of  canister  and  grape,  round  shot  and 
musketry,  they  steadily  advanced,  till  the  victory  was  complete. 
The  right  of  our  line  was  led  by  the  colored  troops  of  General 
Hawkins'  command,  who  in  remembrance  of  Fort  Pillow, 
showed  the  determination  of  revenge,  and  dashed  into  the  ditch 
and  over  the  works,  driving  the  Mississippians  before  them  with 
terrible  energy.  By  7  o'clock  the  national  colors  floated  over 
Blakely,  and  3,000  prisoners,  32  guns,  4,000  small  arms,  and 
16  flags  were  trophies  of  the  victory.  The  Union  loss  was 
nearly  1,000  men,  while  the  rebels,  fighting  under  cover,  lost 
only  500,  but  the  cost  was  not  too  much  ;  Mobile,  with  all  its 
dependencies,  fell  with  Blakely,  and  during  the  night  Maury 
retreated  with  9,000  men  towards  Central  Alabama,  leaving 
1,000  prisoners,  132  guns,  and  much  valuable  property. 
Canby  now  sent  one  column  at  once  up  the  Alabama  River,  to 
Selma,  another  to  Montgomery,  and  the  cavalry  under  Grier- 
son,  through  the  country  to  Eufaula,  thus  placing  another  cor 
don  of  armed  men  in  the  path  of  the  flying  rebel  President. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

SITUATION  IX  FRONT  OF  PETERSBURG — THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 
TO  ACCOMPLISH  ITS  OWN  TASK — MR.  LINCOLN'S  VIEWS — GRANT'S 
INSTRUCTIONS  TO  SHERIDAN — SHERIDAN  MOVES  FROM  WINCHES 
TER — DEFEAT  OF  EARLY — SHERIDAN  AT  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  —  HE 
JOINS  GRANT — GRANT'S  APPREHENSIONS  FOR  SHERMAN — REVIEW 
OF  OPERATIONS — THE  FINALE  APPROACHING — THE  ORDERS  FOR 
THE  GENERAL  MOVEMENT — PLANS  OF  OPERATIONS — LEE'S  SORTIE 

AGAINST  GRANT'S  RIGHT — LEE'S  PLAN  FOILED — PRELIMINARIES — 
BATTLE  OF  FIVE  FORKS  —  SHERIDAN'S  SUCCESS  —  REJOICINGS  IN 
THE  ARMY  —  LEE  DECIDES  TO  ABANDON  RICHMOND  AND  PETERS 
BURG — JEFF.  DAVIS  PREPARES  FOR  FLIGHT — THE  OVERWHELMING 

ASSAULT — A    FIERCE    STRUGGLE  —  LEE    ABANDONS    PETERSBURG — 

GRANT'S  ARMY  IN  PURSUIT  —  LEE  ATTEMPTS  TO  REACH  THE  MOUN 
TAINS — SHERIDAN  WATCHFUL — HE  CAPTURES  THE  REBEL  TRAIN — 
LEE'S  PROGRESS  CHECKED  —  CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  GRANT 
AND  LEE — THE  SURRENDER  OF  LEE'S  ARMY — ITS  RESULT — JOHN 
STON'S  SURRENDER— SHERIDAN'S  MOVEMENT  TOWARDS  THE  MEX 
ICAN  FRONTIER — GRANT'S  OPINIONS  IN  REGARD  TO  MEXICO — DIS 
BANDING  OF  THE  VOLUNTEERS — GRANT  PROMOTED  TO  THE  FULL 
GRADE  OF  GENERAL. 

DURING  the  course  of  events  which  resulted  from  his  mag 
nificent  combinations  in  the  West  and  South,  Grant  himself 
was  not  idle,  but  all  through  the  winter  maintained  such  a 
menacing  attitude  in  front  of  Petersburg  as  to  compel  Lee  to 
stand  constantly  on  the  defensive.  At  no  time  would  it  have 
been  safe  for  that  General  to  detach  a  brigade  from  his  be 
leaguered  forces  for  the  assistance  of  Hood  and  Hardee. 
Before  the  spring  campaign  commenced,  the  President  urged 
Grant  to  bring  Sherman's  army  from  Savannah  to  City  Point, 
and  to  join  it  with  the  armies  near  Petersburg  for  a  final  and 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  357 

crushing  blow,  but  the  far-seeing  Lieutenant-General  stead 
fastly  adhered  to  his  plan  of  keeping  Sherman  in  the  interior, 
marching  and  destroying  as  well  as  barring  all  lines  of  retreat. 
He  had  other  reasons  not  purely  military,  but  rather  belong 
ing  to  the  domain  of  statesmanship  which  influenced  him  in 
requiring  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  accompjish  the  task 
which  it  had  undertaken.  If  the  gallant  fighters  of  the  West 
should  be  allowed  to  join  their  strength  with  that  of  their  less 
fortunate,  but  not  less  courageous,  compatriots  from  the  East 
before  the  final  blow  was  struck,  it  would  give  rise  to  never- 
ending  jealousy,  and  never-satisfied  claims  for  the  honor  of 
having  conquered  the  last  stronghold  of  the  rebellion. 

Patriotism  is  a  controlling  characteristic  of  American  sol 
diers,  in  all  matters  concerning  the  public  enemy,  but  amongst 
themselves,  they  are  slow  to  sink  their  individuality  in  defer 
ence  to  the  claims  of  others,  and  therefore  Grant's  appre 
hension  that  the  arrival  of  the  Western  army  would  not  be 
productive  of  harmony,  was  probably  well  founded.  At  all 
events,  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  his  usual  candor,  frankly  admitted 
that  he  had  not  considered  the  question  in  that  light,  and 
after  reflection  agreed  with  Grant,  that  if  the  Armies  of  the 
Potomac  and  James  could,  without  assistance,  crush  Lee's 
army,  they  had  better  be  permitted  to  do  itt  Grant  really 
entertained  more  fear  of  failure  for  Sherman's  movement,  than 
he  did  for  his  own ;  and  instead  of  drawing  support  from 
him,  except  of  that  moral  kind  which  would  come  with  a 
victorious  march  northward,  he  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost 
to  send  troops  to  Sherman.  Schofield  and  Terry,  with  a 
column  of  25,000  men,  went  out  from  Wilmington,  menacing 
the  rear  of  the  rebel  army  gathering  under  Johnston.  Stone- 
man  was  ordered  to  cross  the  mountains  from  East  Tennessee, 
and  after  breaking  the  railroads,  was  expected  to  form  a 
junction  with  the  marching  columns,  and  in  order  to  make 
all  the  operations  outside  of  his  own  immediate  presence, 
secure  beyond  the  chance  of  failure,  Grant  directed  Sheridan, 
now  the  undisputed  master  of  North  Virginia,  to  cut  off  all 
hostile  communication  from  Kichmond  with  that  region,  and- 


358  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

then  to  move  by  the  way  of  Lynchburg,  to  the  westward  of 
Danville  and  join  Sherman. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  Sheridan,  with  10,000  cavalry 
under  Merritt  and  Custer,  moved  from  Winchester,  and  on 
the  1st  of  March  secured  the  bridge  across  the  north  fork  of 
the  Shenancj^ah  at  Mount  Crawford,  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  the  rebels  to  destroy  it.  He  reached  Staunton  the  next 
day,  driving  the  rebels  before  him  in  the  direction  of  Waynes- 
borough.  Without  pausing  he  pushed  forward  in  the  same 
direction ;  found  the  enemy  under  Early  occupying  a  strongly 
entrenched  position,  and  with  audacious  confidence,  spurning 
the  preliminary  of  even  a  reconnoissance,  he  dashed  headlong 
upon  their  works,  sweeping  over  them  with  the  violence  and 
ease  of  a  tornado,  capturing  1,600  prisoners,  11  guns  with 
horses  and  caissons  complete,  200  wagons  and  17  battle-flags. 
Early,  with  one  orderly,  fled  to  the  mountains  and  disappeared 
from  the  war.  Sheridan,  sending  his  prisoners  back  to  Win 
chester,  pushed  forward  to  Charlotteville,  breaking  up  the 
railroad  and  burning  the  bridges  as  he  went.  At  Charlotte 
ville  he  stayed  his  rapid  swoop  till  his  trains  could  overtake 
him.  The  roads  being  exceedingly  bad,  several  days  elapsed 
before  he  could  resume  his  march ;  and  owing  to  the  delays 
already  experienced,  he  relinquished  the  idea  of  going  to 
Petersburg.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  March,  dividing 
his  force  into  two  columns, 'he  sent  one  to  Scottville  under 
Merritt,  with  directions  to  destroy  the  James  River  Canal  as 
far  up  as  New  Market,  while  Custer  moved  toward  Lynch 
burg  destroying  the  railroads  as  far  as  Amherst  Court  House, 
and  then  forming  a  junction  with  Merritt  at  New  Market. 
The  James  being  very  high,  Sheridan  could  not  cross  it  with 
the  small  number  oi  pontoons  that  he  had  brought  with  him, 
and  the  enemy  having  destroyed  the  permanent  bridges  span 
ning  that  stream  at  Hardwicksville  and  elsewhere,  it  was  im 
possible  to  reach  the  Southside  Road  as  he  desired.  Under 
these  circumstances,  having  done  all  the  damage  he  could  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river,  there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but 
to  return  to  Winchester  or  to  march  to  the  White  House  and 


LIFE   OP   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  359 

thence  to  the  James  River  below  Richmond  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  junction  with  the  armies  about  Petersburg. 

"  Fortunately,"  says  General  Grant,  "  he  chose  the  latter 
course,"  and  set  out  at  once  by  the  canal  towards  Richmond, 
destroying  the  locks  and  cutting  the  embankment  as  far  down 
as  Goochland.  Thence  he  moved  to  Columbia,  communicat 
ing  from  that  place  with  Grant,  and  halting  a  day  for  the 
purpose  of  closing  up  his  columns.  On  the  19th  of  March 
he  reached  the  White  House.  After  refitting  and  resting  his 
command,  he  moved  across  to  the  James  and  rejoined  Grant, 
from  whom  he  had  been  absent  nearly  nine  months. 

Still  apprehensive  for  Sherman,  and  fearful  that  Lee,  as 
the  toils  were  drawn  closer  and  closer  about  him,  might  un 
dertake  to  withdraw  his  army  to  the  mountains,  the  Lieuten- 
ant-General,  on  the  7th  of  March,  ordered  Thomas  to  repair 
the  railroad  in  East  Tennessee,  and  to  throw  a  good  force 
forward  to  fortify  Bull's  Gap,  where  he  could  hold  himself 
in  readiness  for  a  campaign  towards  Lynchburg,  or  into 
North  Carolina.  Having  taken  this  final  precaution,  and 
fully  matured  his  plans,  the  time  was  at  hand  for  the  forces 
under  his  immediate  command  to  strike  the  final  blow.  He 
had  made  his  preparations  with  consummate  skill,  infusing  into 
the  armies,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Mississippi,  an  uncon 
querable  spirit,  and  directing  them  with  a  skill  and  unity 
never  before  realized  in  modern  warfare.  Under  his  chosen 
leaders  they  had  ceased  to  be  "  a  balky  team,"  and  were 
now  pressing  forward  with  a  zeal  and  harmony  that  made 
light  of  labor,  and  darkened  the  closing  days  of  the  rebellion 
with  a  series  of  overwhelming  defeats. 

"  Thus,"  says  General  Grant,  "  it  will  be  seen  that  in  March,  1865, 
General  Canby  was  moving  an  adequate  force  against  Mobile  and  the 
army  defending  it,  under  Dick  Taylor ;  Thomas  was  pushing  out  two 
large  and  well-appointed  cavalry  expeditions, — one  from  Midcfte  Ten 
nessee,  under  Brevet  Major-General  Wilson,  against  the  enemy's  vital 
points  in  Alabama ;  the  other  from  East  Tennessee,  under  Major- Gen 
eral  Stoneman,  towards  Lynchburg ;  q,nd  assembling  the  remainder  of 
his  available  forces  preparatory  to  offensive  operations  from  East  Ten 
nessee.  General  Sheridan's  cavalry  was  at  the  White  House  ;  the 


860  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Armies  of  the  Potomac  and  James  were  confronting  the  enemy  under 
Lee  in  his  defences  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg ;  General  Sherman, 
with  his  armies  reinforced  by  that  of  General  Schofield,  was  at  Golds- 
boro ;  General  Pope  was  making  preparations  for  a  campaign  against 
the  enemy,  Kirby  Smith  and  Price,  west  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  General 
Hancock  was  concentrating  a  force  in  the  vicinity  of  Winchester,  Va., 
to  guard  against  invasion,  or  to  operate  offensively,  as  might  prove 
necessary." 

The  orders  for  a  general  movement  of  the  armies  operating 
against  Eichmond  were  issued  to  General  Meade  on  the  24th 
of  March,  and  as  one  object  of  this  work  is  to  show  the 
methods  resorted  to  by  the  Lieutenant- General,  in  the  conduct 
of  military  operations,  they  are  inserted  entire,  as  follows : 

"  On  the  29th  instant,  the  armies  operating  against  Richmond  will 
be  moved  by  our  left  for  the  double  purpose  of  turning  the  enemy  out 
of  his  present  position  around  Petersburg,  and  to  insure  the  success  of 
the  cavalry  under  General  Sheridan,  which  will  start  at  the  same  time, 
in  its  efforts  to  reach  and  destroy  the  Southside  and  Danville  Rail 
roads.  Two  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  will  be  moved  at  first 
in  two  columns,  taking  the  two  roads  crossing  Hatcher's  Run  nearest 
where  the  present  line  held  by  us  strikes  that  stream,  both  moving 
towards  Dinwiddie  Court  House. 

"  The  cavalry  under  General  Sheridan,  joined  by  the  division  now 
under  General  Davies,  will  move  at  the  same  time  by  the  Weldon  Road 
and  the  Jerusalem  plank -road,  turning  west  from  the  latter  before 
crossing  the  Nottoway,  and  west  with  the  whole  column  before  reach 
ing  Stony  Creek.  General  Sheridan  will  then  move  independently 
under  other  instructions  which  will  be  given  him.  All  dismounted 
cavalry  belonging  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  dismounted 
cavalry  from  the  Middle  Military  Division,  not  required  for  guarding 
property  belonging  to  their  arm  of  service,  will  report  to  Brigadier- 
General  Benham,  to  be  added  to  the  defences  of  City  Point.  Major- 
General  Parke  will  be  left  in  command  of  all  the  army  left  for  holding 
the  lines  about  Petersburg  and  City  Point,  subject,  of  course,  to  orders 
from  the  Commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  Ninth  Army 
Corps  will  be  left  intact  to  hold  the  present  lyie  of  works  so  long  as 
the  whole  line  now  occupied  by  us  is  held.  If,  however,  the  troops  to 
the  left  of  the  Ninth  corps  are  withdrawn,  then  the  left  of  the  corps 
may  be  thrown  back  so  as  to  occupy  the  position  held  by  the  army 
prior  to  the  capture  of  the  Weldon  Road.  All  troops  to  the  left  of  the 
Ninth  corps  will  be  held  in  readiness  to  move  at  the  shortest  notice  by 
such  routes  as  may  be  designated  when  the  order  is  given. 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  361 

"  General  Ord  will  detach  three  divisions,  two  white  and  one  colored, 
or  so  much  of  them  as  he  can,  and  hold  his  present  lines,  and  march 
for  the  present,  left  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  In  the  absence  of 
further  orders,  or  until  further  orders  are  given,  the  white  divisions 
will  follow  the  left  column  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  col 
ored  divisions  the  right  column.  During  the  movement,  Major-General 
Weitzel  will  be  left  in  command  of  all  the  forces  remaining  behind 
from  the  Army  of  the  James. 

**  The  movement  of  troops  from  the  Army  of  the  James  will  com 
mence  on  the  night  of  the  27th  instant.  General  Ord  will  leave  be 
hind  the  minimum  number  of  cavalry  necessary  for  picket  duty,  in 
the  absence  of  the  main  army.  A  cavalry  expedition  from  General 
Ord's  command  will  also  be  started  from  Suffolk,  to  leave  there  on 
Saturday,  the  1st  of  April,  under  Colonel  Sumner,  for  the  purpose  of 
cutting  the  railroad  about  Hick's  Ford.  This,  if  accomplished,  will  have 
to  be  a  surprise,  and  therefore  from  three  to  five  hundred  men  will  be 
sufficient.  They  should,  however,  be  supported  by  all  the  infantry  that 
can  be  spared  from  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  as  far  out  as  to  where  the 
cavalry  crosses  the  Blackwater.  The  crossing  shouldf  probably  be  at 
Vinton.  Should  Colonel  Sumner  succeed  in  reaching  the  Weldon 
Road,  he  will  be  instructed  to  do  all  the  damage  possible  to  the  tri 
angle  of  roads  between  Hick's  Ford,  Weldon,  and  Gaston.  The  railroad 
bridge  at  Weldon  being  fitted  up  for  the  passage  of  carriages,  it  might 
be  practicable  to  destroy  any  accumulation  of  supplies  the  enemy  may 
have  collected  south  of  the  Roanoke.  All  the  troops  will  move  with 
four  days'  rations  in  haversacks,  and  eight  days'  in  wagons.  To  avoid 
as  much  hauling  as  possible,  and  to  give  the  Army  of  the  James  the 
same  number  of  days'  supply  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General 
Ord  will  direct  his  commissary  and  quartermaster  to  have  sufficient 
supplies  delivered  at  the  terminus  of  the  road  to  fill  up  in  passing- 
Sixty  rounds  of  ammunition  per  man  will  be  taken  in  wagons,  and  as 
much  grain  as  the  transportation  on  hand  will  carry,  after  taking  the 
specified  amount  of  other  supplies.  The  densely  wooded  country  in. 
which  the  army  has  to  operate,  making  the  use  of  much  artillery  im 
practicable,  the  amount  taken  with  the  army  will  be  reduced  to  six  or 
eight  guns  to  each  division,  at  the  option  of  the  army  commanders. 

"  All  necessary  preparations  for  carrying  these  directions  into  opera 
tion  may  be  commenced  at  once.  The  reserves  of  the  Ninth  corps 
should  be  massed  as  much  as  possible.  Whilst  I  would  not  now  order 
an  unconditional  attack  on  the  enemy's  line  by  them,  they  should  be 
ready,  and  should  make  the  attack  if  the  enemy  weakens  his  line  in 
their  front,  without  waiting  for  orders.  In  case  they  carry  the  line, 
then  the  whole  of  the  Ninth  corps  should  follow  up,  so  as  to  join  or 
co-operate  with  the  balance  of  the  army.  To  prepare  for  this,  the 


362  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Ninth  corps  will  have  rations  issued  to  them,  the  same  as  the  balance 
of  the  army.  General  Weitzel  will  keep  vigilant  watch  upon  his  front, 
and  if  found  at  all  practicable  to  break  through  at  any  point,  he  will 
do  so.  A  success  north  of  the  James  should  be  followed  up  with  great 
promptness.  An  attack  will  not  be  feasible  unless  it  is  found  that  the 
enemy  has  detached  largely.  In  that  case  it  may  be  regarded  as  evi 
dent  that  the  enemy  are  relying  upon  their  local  reserves  principally 
for  the  defence  of  Richmond.  Preparations  may  be  made  for  abandon 
ing  all  the  line  north  of  the  James,  except  enclosed  works — only  to  be 
abandoned,  however,  after  a  break  is  made  in  the  lines  of  the  enemy. 
"  By  these  instructions  a  large  part  of  the  armies  operating  against 
Richmond  is  left  behind.  The  enemy,  knowing  this,  may,  as  an  only 
chance,  strip  their  lines  to  the  merest  skeleton,  in  the  hope  of  advan 
tage  not  being  taken  of  it,  whilst  they  hurl  everything  against  the  mov 
ing  column,  and  return.  It  can  not  be  impressed  too  strongly  upon 
commanders  of  troops  left  in  the  trenches,  not  to  allow  this  to  occur 
without  taking  advantage  of  it.  The  very  fact  of  the  enemy  coming 
out  to  attack,  if  he  does  so,  might  be  regarded  as  almost  conclusive  evi 
dence  of  such  a  weakening  of  his  lines.  I  would  have  it  particularly 
enjoined  upon  corps  commanders  that,  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the 
enemy,  those  not  attacked  are  not  to  wait  for  orders  from  the  com 
manding  officer  of  the  army  'to  which  they  belong,  but  that  they  will 
move  promptly,  and  notify  the  commander  of  their  action.  I  would, 
also,  enjoin  the  same  action  on  the  part  of  division  commanders  when 
other  parts  of  their  corps  are  engaged.  In  like  manner,  I  would  urge 
the  importance  of  following  up  a  repulse  of  the  enemy." 

But  Lee,  who  had  long  contemplated  the  evacuation  of 
Petersburg,  had  also  formed  a  plan  of  operations,  based  upon 
a  vigorous  offensive.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of 
March  he  threw  forward  Gordon's  division  against  the  right 
of  Grant's  line  held  by  the  Ninth  corps,  at  Hare's  Hill  or  Fort 
Steedman.  The  concentration  of  troops  for  this  attack  was 
made  with  secrecy,  and  as  the  sortie  began  before  daylight,  it 
fell  quite  unexpectedly  upon  the  advanced  works  of  the 
Union  line.  A  brief  struggle  ensued  resulting  in  the  loss  of 
the  works  and  many  guns,  but  the  troops  behind  forming 
promptly,  advanced  to  regain  the  lost  ground.  Meade  threw 
forward  the  Second  and  Sixth  corps  at  the  same  time,  and 
after  a  sharp  contest  not  only  dislodged  Gordon,  but  captured 
1,900  prisoners.  Lee's  object  was  doubtless  to  break  through 
Grant's  right  and  seize  his  railroad-  to  City  Point,  thus  com- 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  363 

polling  a  contraction  of  the  Union  left  and  securing  for  the 
rebels  an  opportunity  to  abandon  Petersburg  and  throw 
themselves  into  the  open  country  for  the  purpose  of  uniting 
with  Johnston.  This  well  conceived  plan  was  admirably 
foiled ;  Grant  was  not  changed  in  his  resolution  in  any  way 
by  it.  It  neither  accelerated  nor  retarded  his  movements ; 
but  he  delayed  to  consult  with  Sherman,  whose  army  was 
now  at  Goldsboro,  while  he  was  in  person  hastening  to  City 
Point,  with  assurances  of  his  ability  to  move  forward  to  any 
designated  point  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  in  the  final 
movement.  Grant  directed  him  to  demonstrate  upon  Ealeigh 
and  then  turnino;  north-eastward  to  cross  the  Roanoke  at 

O 

Gaston  and  move  forward  to  Burkesville,  or  join  the  armies 
operating  against  Richmond  as  he  might  think  best.  He 
explained  fully  the  plan  of  his  own  movement,  and  informed 
his  Lieutenant  that  in  case  of  failure  or  only  partial  success, 
Sheridan  would  be  detached  to  move  down  the  Danville  Rail 
road  and  form  a  junction  with  the  army  from  the  West. 

"  J  had  spent  days  of  anxiety,"  says  General  Grant,  "  lest  each  morn 
ing  should  bring  the  report  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  the  night 
before.  I  was  firmly  convinced  that  Sherman's  crossing  the  Roanoke 
would  be  the  signal  for  Lee  to  leave.  With  Johnston  and  Lee  com 
bined,  a  long,  tedious,  and  expensive  campaign,  consuming  most  of  the 
summer,  might  become  necessary.  By  moving  out,  I  would  put  the 
army  in  better  condition  for  pursuit,  and  would  at  least,  by  the  de 
struction  of  the  Danville  Road,  retard  the  concentration  of  the  two 
armies  of  Lee  and  Johnston,  and  cause  the  enemy  to  abandon  much 
material  that  he  might  otherwise  save.  I  therefore  determined  not  to 
delay  the  movement  ordered." 

On  the  28th  of  March,  fie  informed  Sheridan  that  the 
Fifth  corps  and  Second  corps  would  move  at  an  early  hour 
next  morning,  and  directed  him  to  march  in  the  same  direc 
tion  with  his  cavalry,  but  without  confining  himself  to  any 
particular  road  or  roads.  The  object  of  his  march  was  to 
find  and  fall  upon  the  enemy's  right  flank  and  rear,  with  the 
intention  of  compelling  him  to  abandon  his  entrenched  posi 
tion  in  front,  and  seek  the  open  field  for  battle.  Sheridan 
was  allowed  ample  latitude  in  carrying  his  orders  into  effect, 


364  LIFE   OF  ULYSSES   S.  GEANT. 

but  was  urged  to  fight  as  hotly  as  circumstances  would  per 
mit,  should  he  find  a  favorable  opportunity,  receiving  the 
assurance  that  the  infantry  would  attack  with  vigor,  or  fol 
low  in  close  pursuit.  Should  it  be  found  impracticable  to 
force  the  enemy  from  his  works,  he  was  in  that  case  to  cut 
loose  and  push  for  the  Danville  Railroad,  and  after  doing  all 
the  damage  he  could  upon  rebel  communications  he  was 
authorized  to  return  to  Grant  or  to  proceed  to  join  Sherman 
in  North  Carolina. 

The  next  day,  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  different  corps 
moved  forward  as  directed.  Warren  marched  by  the  Qua 
ker  Road,  with  Griffin  in  advance  skirmishing,  heavily  with 
Bushrod  Johnson  ;  Humphreys  crossed  Hatcher's  Run  and 
pushed  through  the  dense  woods  to  Warren's  right ;  while 
Sheridan  trotted  briskly  by  the  usual  route  to  Dinwiddie 
Court  House,  some  six  miles  to  the  left  and  rear  of  the  Fifth 
corps.  Ord  had  already  crossed  from  Deep  Bottom,  and 
taken  his  place  on  Wright's  left,  while  Parke  still  held  his 
old  position,  thus  extending  the  Union  line,  without  a  break, 
"  from  the  Appomattox  to  Dinwiddie."  The  various  move 
ments  of  the  day  were  made  with  such  regularity  and  pre 
cision,  and  the  prospect  at  night  was  so  favorable,  that  -Grant, 
in  order  to  mate  sure  of  Sheridan's  powerful  co-operation, 
wrote : 

"  I  now  feel  like  ending  the  matter  if  it  is  possible  to  do  so  before  going 
back.  I  do  not  want  you,  therefore,  to  cut  loose  and  go  after  the  ene 
my's  roads  at  present.  In  the  morning,  push  around  the  enemy  if  you 
can  and  get  on  to  his  right  and  rear.  The  movements  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry  may,  of  course,  modify  your  action.  We  will  act  altogether  as 
one  army  here  till  it  is  seen  what  can  be  done  with  the  enemy." 

Early  the  next  morning,  notwithstanding  a  heavy  rain 
storm  during  the  night,  and  throughout  the  day,  Sheridan 
pushed  forward  to  Five  Forks,  where  he  found  the  enemy 
strongly  entrenched.  Warren's  corps  advanced,  crossing  the 
Boydton  plank-road,  and  after  heavy  skirmishing  took  up  a 
position  in  front  of  the  rebel  works  along  the  White  Oak 
road.  Humphreys  drove  straight  forward  with  his  right  on 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  365 

Hatcher's  Run,  while  Ord,  Wright  and  Parke  made  demon 
strations  along  their  respective  fronts,  with  the  view  of 
ascertaining  the  feasibility  of  an  assault.  Lee,  in  extending 
towards  Five  Forks,  seems  to  have  weakened  his  left  con 
siderably,  discovering  which,  both  Wright  and  Parke  exr 
pressed  the  opinion  that  they  could  assault  successfully. 
Grant,  therefore,  decided  to  extend  the  left  no  further,  but  to 
re-enforce  Sheridan  with  a  corps  of  infantry,  which  would 
enable  that  officer  to  "  cut  loose "  and  fall  upon  the  rebel 
rear,  while  the  other  corps  should  assault  in  front.  Prepara 
tions  were  made  to  carry  this  determination  into  effect,  but 
the  sodden  condition  of  the  roads  caused  a  considerable  delay. 
On  the  morning  of  the  31st,  Warren  having  expressed  a 
belief  that  he  could  take  the  White  Oak  road,  was  directed 
to  do  so,  though  previous  instructions  had  been  issued  from 
Meade's  head-quarters  suspending  all  movements  for  the  day. 
The  operations  of  Warren,  however,  were  not  fully  begun 
when  Lee,  who  had  massed  a  heavy  force  on  his  right,  as 
sumed  the  offensive,  falling  upon  the  advanced  brigade  under 
Winthrop,  sweeping  it  back  upon  the  rest  of  the  division, 
throwing  the  whole  into  confusion,  and  compelling  it  to  recoil 
upon  Crawford's  division.  Warren,  in  the  meantime,  threw 
forward  Griffin's  division,  and  after  a  gallant  struggle  checked 
the  rebels  till  the  arrival  of  Miles'  division  of  the  Second 
corps  ultimately  enabled  him  to  drive  them  back  to  and  be 
yond  their  works  on  the  White  Oak  road. 

Sheridan,  who  had  advanced  to  Five  Forks  and  made  a 
lodgment  at  that  place,  now  caught  the  brunt  of  the  rebel 
attack.  Rapidly  massing  infantry  and  cavalry  in  his  front, 
they  fell  upon  him  with  great  fury,  driving  him,  after  a  con 
tinuous  and  bloody  battle  lasting  till  nightfall,  nearly  to  Din- 
widdie  Court  House.  During  the  entire  afternoon,  Sheridan 
managed  his  force  with  great  skill ;  dismounting  all  his  avail 
able  men,  and  sending  the  horses  to  the  rear,  he  formed  an 
extended  line  of  skirmishers,  whose  operations  were  favored 
by  the  heavy  forest  through  which  he  was  compelled  to 
retire.  The  rebels,  after  pressing  him  back  some  distance, 


366  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

swung  off  towards  his  right  as  if  to  march  towards  the 
Boydton  road  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Warren  in  flank 
and  rear.  Divining  their  intention  and  perceiving  a  fine 
opening,  he  threw  forward  his  left,  under  Gibbs  and  Gregg, 
striking  the  enemy  in  rear  and  flank,  and  compelling  them  to 
change  front  at  once.  After  this,  they  continued  to  press 
heavily  upon  him,  but  by  hard  fighting  he  succeeded  in 
retarding  their  advance  long  enough  to  permit  Merritt  to 
throw  up  a  rail  breastwork  in  front  of  Dinwiddie,  behind 
which,  a  final  and  successful  stand  was  made.  During  the 
afternoon  he  notified  the  Lieutenant- General  of  his  peril 
ous  situation,  and  Grant  sent  him  MacKenzie's,  (formerly 
Kautz's)  division  of  cavalry,  and  Ay  res'  division  from  War 
ren's  corps.  During  the  night,  Meade,  by  a  confidential 
order,  directed  Warren  and  Humphreys  to  contract  their 
lines  and  retire  to  the  east  side  of  the  Boydton  plank-road, 
apparently  looking  to  an  abandonment  of  the  advantages 
already  gained,  if  not  of  the  entire  movement.  But  Grant, 
with  immovable  resolution,  shortly  afterwards  directed  War 
ren,  with  the  rest  of  his  corps,  to  hasten  to  Dinwiddie,  not 
withstanding  the  intense  darkness  of  the  night,  while  Hum 
phreys  was  instructed  to  maintain  his  position  on  the  Boydton 
road.  This  idea  seems  to  have  occurred  to  Warren  at  the 
same  time,  but  unfortunately  the  bridges  across  Gravelly  Eun 
were  down,  and  hence  the  movement  was  much  delayed. 
In  the  meantime,  the  rebels  fearing  that  Ayers  would  fall 
upon  their  rear,  about  midnight  abandoned  their  position  in 
Sheridan's  front,  and  fell  back  to  Five  Forks.  This  was  the 
turning  point  in  the  campaign,  for  at  an  early  hour  the  irre 
pressible  and  "  belligerent  Sheridan,"  clothed  now  by  the 
Lieutenant-General  with  ample  authority  over  all  the  troops 
within  his  reach,  moved  once  more  confidently  towards  Five 
Forks,  (so-called  because  of  its  being  the  point  of  radiation 
for  five  roads  or  paths.)  But  the  infantry  having  been  de 
layed  by  the  darkness  of  the  night  and  the  long  distance  to 
be  marched,  the  day  wore  on  well  into  the  afternoon  before 
the  general  attack  could  be  made.  Sheridan  had  with  him 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  367 

about  9,000  cavalry,  commanded  by  Merritt  and  MacKenzie, 
and  about  12,500  infantry  of  the  Fifth  corps.  His  plan  of 
operations  was  exceedingly  brilliant.  After  reaching  the  im 
mediate  vicinity  of  Five  Forks,  he  threw  forward  most  of  the 
cavalry,  menacing  a  direct  attack,  while  Warren's  corps  was 
moved  to  the  right  by  the  Gravelly  Run  Church,  for  the 
purpose  of  striking  and  breaking  through  the  enemy's  left. 
MacKenzie  was  ordered  to  reach  the  White  Oak  road  and 
cover  the  right  flank  and  rear  of  the  infantry.  The  first  part 
of  the  plan  was  executed  with  great  skill,  by  Merritt,  who 
pushed  Davies  and  Custer  vigorously  against  the  rebel  skir 
mishers,  by  two  o'clock  driving  them  into  their  entrench 
ments  in  front  of  Five  Forks,  and  then  demonstrated  heavily 
upon  the  extreme  right  of  the  rebel  line.  MacKenzie's  move 
ment  to  the  White  Oak  road  was  also  fortunate  and  oppor 
tune,  for  shortly  after  he  struck  the  road  he  encountered  a 
rebel  force  moving  towards  Five  Forks,  and  attacking  them 
boldly,  drove  them  back  towards  Petersburg.  At  length 
Warren  reached  the  position  assigned  him,  and  advanced 
straight  upon  the  White  Oak  road,  Crawford  on  the  right, 
Ayers  on  the  left,  and  Griffin  in  support.  Immediately  after 
striking  the  road,  the  corps  wheeled  to  the  left  till  it  was 
faced  westward,  at  right  angles  with  its  original  direction. 
MacKenzie  was  then  thrown  forward,  to  the  right  of  Craw 
ford.  In  this  order  the  assault  was  made  ;  but  Ayers, 
swinging  on  a  fixed  pivot  and  advancing,  at  once  found  him 
self  hotly  engaged  and  thrown  into  considerable  confusion 
before  the  rest  of  the  corps  had  completed  the  wheeling 
movement.  Griffin  was  thrown  forward  to  his  assistance, 
and  the  two  veteran  divisions  now  sprang  out  with  alacrity, 
breaking  through  abattis  and  sweeping  over  the  enemy's 
works  with  an  irresistible  impulse.  The  heavy  firing  on  this 
front  was  the  signal  for  Merritt  to  sound  the  charge  for  the 
cavalry,  and,  eager  for  the  fray,  the  gallant  horsemen  dashed 
straight  at  the  works  in  their  front,  sweeping  over  them  like 
a  tornado.  The  rebels  finding  themselves  assailed  in  front, 
flank  and  rear,  gave  way  and  fled  in  hopeless  confusion,  hotly 


368  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

pursued  by  the  victorious  cavalry-men.  They  left  behind 
them  6,000  prisoners,  4  guns  and  many  colors,  while  the 
Union  loss  did  not  exceed  1,000,  all  told.  Merritt  and  Mac- 
Kenzie  chased  the  fugitives  westward  till  far  into  the  night. 
The  victory  was  complete,  and  put  a  fitting  climax  to  the 
fame  which  Sheridan  had  won  at  Stone  River,  Chickamauga, 
Chattanooga,  and  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

The  news  was  instantly  borne  to  Grant  and  communicated 
to  the  army,  where  it  was  received  with  deafening  cheers  by 
the  gallant  troops  who  gathered  confidence  for  the  morrow, 
feeling  that  their  reward  was  near  at  hand,  and  that  the  dawn 
would  usher  in  their  last  struggle  against  the  rebellion. 
Fearing  during  the  night  lest  the  rebel  chieftain  should 
gather  in  his  detached  forces,  desert  the  entrenchments  he 
had  held  so  faithfully,  and  fall  with  his  entire  army  upon 
Sheridan,  the  Lieutenant- General  sent  Miles'  division  from 
Humphreys'  corps  to  re-enforce  him,  and  caused  the  guns 
and  mortars  all  along  the  investing  lines  to  open  fire  upon 
the  hostile  position  and  continue  the  bombardment  till  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  which  time  a  general  assault  was 
ordered.  Lee  in  the  meanwhile  had  also  heard  the  news 
from  Five  Forks,  and  decided  at  once  that  Petersburg  and 
Richmond  must  be  abandoned  ;  but  he  was  too  good  a  soldier 
to  go  in  disorder  or  confusion  and  therefore  maintained  his 
position  till  the  proper  arrangements  could  be  made  for  the 
retreat.  He  made  known  to  Davis,  however,  the  necessity 
which  had  been  precipitated  by  the  disastrous  defeat  of  his 
right  wing.  The  rebel  President  received  the  news  while  at 
church,  and  left  instantly  to  prepare  for  flight  from  the  capi 
tal  he  had  declared  it  would  be  cowardice  to  abandon.  Pre 
cisely  at  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  April  2d,  the 
impatient  soldiers  of  the  Union  leaped  forth  in  one  over 
whelming  assault,  extending  from  the  Appomattox  to  Hatch 
er's  Run.  Wright's  Sixth  corps,  which  had  returned  from 
the  Shenandoah  filled  with  confidence,  swept  forward  from 
the  center  with  the  impulse  of  an  avalanche,  carrying 
everything  before  it;  glacis  and  ditch,  parapet  and  rifle- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  369 

trench  alike  failed  to  check  their  progress.  Parke,  with 
the  Ninth  corps  on  the  right,  and  Ord,  with  the  Army 
of  the  James  on  the  left,  joined  nobly  in  this  crushing  and 
annihilating  assault.  Parke  was  checked  after  carrying  the 
outer  line  of  works,  but  Wright  and  Ord  pushing  their 
destructive  march  through  all  obstacles,  capturing  cannons 
and  prisoners,  reached  the  Boydton  road  and  turned  towards 
Petersburg.  Humphreys  hearing  the  sounds  of  a  triumphant 
advance  from  the  right,  threw  forward  his  line  and  swept 
over  the  Confederate  works.  Sending  a  part  of  his  corps 
towards  Sutherland  Station,  with  the  rest  he  pushed  on 
towards  Petersburg  in  support  of  Wright  and  Ord.  Before 
eight  o'clock  the  entire  chain  of  exterior  defences  had  been 
captured  by  the  Union  troops,  but  without  halting  to  count 
the  spoils,  they  pressed  forward  against  the  strong  interior 
line  which  had  been  drawn  close  about  the  city.  The  highest 
enthusiasm  prevailed,  officers  and  men  felt  an  elasticity  and 
prowess  that  nothing  but  victory  can  give,  corps  vicing  with 
corps,  division  with  division,  man  with  man.  But  the  works 
against  which  they  were  now  hurling  themselves  were  as 
strong  as  those  of  a  feudal  citadel,  and  their  defenders  though 
rudely  shaken  from  their  fancied  security,  and  depressed  by 
the  fate  whose  baleful  shadows  were  but  too  plainly  visible, 
stood  to  their  guns,  and  clasped  their  muskets  with  the  cour 
age  of  brave  men. 

O 

As  the  surging  lines  and  serried  columns  of  the  assailants 
dashed  bravely  forward,  they  were  received  with  a  deadly 
fire,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  were  hurled  back,  broken  and 
bleeding,  to  reform  and  dash  forward  again  and  again.  By 
noon  the  strife  had  ceased,  and  Lee  had  gained  a  brief  but 
delusive  respite  from  the  troubles  now  gathering  so  rapidly 
about  his  intrepid  but  fated  army.  During  the  night  he 
quietly  abandoned  the  works  about  Petersburg,  and  with 
drew  to  the  north  side  of  the  Appomattox,  turning  the  heads 
of  his  columns  westward  along  the  northern  bank  of  that 
stream.  By  daylight  he  was  sixteen  miles  away,  having 

collected  the  bulk  of  his  army  not  far  from  Chesterfield.     At 
24 


370  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

early  dawn  the  flight  was  discovered,  and  Grant,  without  a 
moment's  delay,  put  his  army  in  motion.  Sheridan,  followed 
by  the  Fifth  corps,  marched  by  the  most  northern  route 
directly  towards  Burkesville ;  Ord,  along  the  Southside  Kail- 
road,  followed  closely  by  the  Second  and  Sixth  corps  towards 
Jettersville.  The  Union  forces  had  gained  the  shorter  line, 
but  Lee  hurried  forward  with  the  energy  of  despair,  hoping 
to  pass  beyond  Burkesville  and  reach  North  Carolina  where 
he  could  join  Johnston,  and  make  still  another  struggle.  On 
the  morning  of  the  4th,  he  reached  Amelia  Court  House, 
where  he  expected  to  find  rations  for  the  army,  but  the  cars 
which  brought  them  had  gone  to  Eichmond  to  remove  the 
rebel  archives,  and  by  a  strange  fatality  carried  with  them 
the  rations  upon  which  the  rebel  army  depended  for  its  lease 
of  life.  His  troops  were  weak  and  hungry,  and  were  there 
fore  allowed  to  break  up  into  small  parties  for  the  sake  of 
foraging.  Two  days  were  thus  lost,  whilst  Grant  drew  his 
cordon  closer  about  them.  Sheridan  had  reached  the  Dan 
ville  Koad,  seven  miles  in  advance  of  Lee,  and  planted  the 
Fifth  corps  firmly  across  it,  while  the  cavalry  watchfully 
guarded  every  road  by  which  a  forward  movement  could  be 
made.  Grant  directing  everything  in  person,  reached  Wilson 
Station  on  the  Southside  Railroad,  on  the  5th.  Ord  arrived 
at  Burkesville  the  same  day,  and  by  night  the  entire  army 
stood  ready  to  bar  Lee's  further  progress  southward.  Forget 
ting  nothing  that  could  possibly  render  the  national  triumph 
more  complete,  the  Lieutenant-General  wrote  to  Sherman  : 

"  All  indications  now  are  that  Lee  will  attempt  to  reach  Danville 
with  the  remnant  of  his  force.  Sheridan,  who  was  up  with  him  last 
night,  reports  all  that  is  left,  '  horse,  foot,  and  dragoons,'  at  20,000, 
much  demoralized.  We  hope  to  reduce  the  number  one-half.  I  shall 
push  on  to  Burkesville,  and  if  a  stand  is  made  at  Danville,  I  will,  in  a 
very  few  days,  go  there.  If  you  possibly  can  do  so,  push  on  from 
where  you  are,  and  let  us  see  if  we  cannot  finish  the  job  with  Lee's 
and  Johnston's  armies.  Whether  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  strike  for 
Greensboro  or  nearer  to  Danville,  you  will  be  better  able  to  judge  when 
you  receive  this.  Rebel  armies  now  are  the  only  strategic  points  to  strike 
at." 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  371 

But  Lee  had  already  discovered  the  hopelessness  of  trying 
to  force  his  way  through  the  Union  lines  towards  the  South, 
and  during  the  night  of  the  5th  resumed  his  march  towards 
High  Bridge  and  Lynchburg  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  the 
mountains  of  South-western  Virginia ;  Sheridan,  however, 
with  sleepless  vigilance  discovered  the  march  almost  as  soon 
as  begun,  and  hurrying  forward  with  the  cavalry,  leaving  all 
the  infantry  to  Meade  who  had  overtaken  him  at  Jettersville, 
he  hung  upon  the  flank  of  the  rebel  column.  Near  Sailor's 
Creek,  six  miles  east  of  High  Bridge,  he  dashed  in  upon  Lee, 
severing  his  marching  column  and  seizing  400  wagons,  16 
guns,  and  many  prisoners.  By  repeatedly  charging  the  rebel 
train  guard  with  terrible  earnestness,  he  succeeded  in  holding 
it  till  Wright  with  the  Sixth  corps,  now  hastening  forward, 
arrived  upon  the  field.  After  a  vigorous  combat,  during 
which  the  Sixth  corps  attacked  in  front  and  the  cavalry  in 
rear,  Sheridan  compelled  the  enemy  to  surrender  at  discre 
tion.  It  was  found  that  three  divisions  of  the  rebel  army 
under  Ewell  had  laid  down  their  arms.  While  this  action 
was  in  progress,  Humphreys,  pushing  farther  to  the  north, 
struck  another  column  of  rebels  and  captured  200  wagons, 
many  guns,  prisoners  and  flags.  At  the  same  time  Grant 
threw  Ord  forward  in  the  direction  of  Farmville.  His  lead 
ing  brigade  under  General  Read,  by  marching  rapidly  suc 
ceeded  in  throwing  itself  in  front  of  Lee's  advance  guard, 
near  that  place,  and  by  heroic  resolution  checked  the  rebels 
till  Ord  with  the  rest  of  his  army  arrived.  During  the  night 
Lee  fled  again,  recrossing  the  Appomattox,  and  pushing 
towards  the  west,  but  with  the  faintest  streak  of  light  the 
pursuing  army  hurried  forward  with  unflagging  energy. 

Lee's  force  was  now  reduced  to  less  than  half  its  original 
number.  The  divisions  of  Mahone  and  Field  about  10,000 
strong  were  all  of  that  once  splendid  organization  now  in  a  fit 
condition  for  marching  or  fighting ;  but  they  had  been  sorely 
tried  in  covering  the  rear  and  forcing  the  disordered  strag 
glers  forward  in  their  weary  flight.  Early  on  the  7th,  Bar 
low's  division,  leading  Humphreys'  corps,  pressed  forward 


372  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

to  High  Bridge  in  time  to  capture  eighteen  guns  and  to  save 
the  bridge  from  destruction.  Humphreys  continued  the 
pursuit  by  two  roads,  sending  Miles  upon  one  and  Barlow 
upon  the  other.  The  former  soon  came  up  with  Mahone, 
strongly  entrenched  five  miles  north  of  Farmville,  and  at 
tacked  him  with  great  vigor  but  was  severely  repulsed,  losing 
nearly  six  hundred  men.  But  this  was  only  a  temporary 
gleam  of  victory  for  the  rebels.  Meade  hurrying  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  onward  in  pursuit  allowed  the  rebel  host  no 
place  of  rest.  On  the  8th,  Sheridan  spurred  his  jaded  horses 
forward  by  the  road  through  Prospect  to  Appomattox  Sta 
tion,  capturing  many  prisoners,  four  trains  containing  supplies 
for  the  rebel  army,  and  twenty-five  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
driving  Lee's  advanced  guard  back  towards  Appomattox 
Court  House.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th  he  planted  his 
forces  squarely  across  Lee's  road,  and  having  already  seized 
the  supplies  intended  for  his  staggering  and  disheartened 
enemy,  prepared  to  hurl  his  irresistible  horsemen  once  more 
headlong  into  battle. 

But  Lee,  failing  to  realize  the  desperate  strait  into  which 
he  had  fallen,  ordered  Gordon  to  attack  the  yet  dismounted 
horsemen  and  drive  them  from  the  road.  The  advance  was 
made  with  the  vigor  of  despair,  and  resulted  in  driving  the 
cavalry ;  but  it  was  too  late,  for  Ord  and  Griffin,  with  20,000 
infantry,  stood  at  their  backs.  Perceiving  that  to  struggle 
longer  could  result  in  nothing  but  the  slaughter  of  his  half- 
famished  soldiers,  Lee  decided  to  surrender.  His  army  was 
reduced  to  less  than  10,000  effective  men ;  his  artillery  had 
been  captured,  his  trains  destroyed,  his  ammunition  ex 
hausted,  his  depots  and  supplies  were  burnt,  and  worse  than 
all,  80,000  victorious  troops  were  bearing  down  upon  him, 
under  the  supreme  command  of  his  relentless  adversary. 
Withal,  that  adversary  had  offered  him,  two  days  before,  the 
most  generous  terms  of  capitulation,  and  under  the  present 
circumstances  there  was  no  alternative  left  him  but  to  accept 
such  as  could  now  be  obtained.  Mounting  his  horse,  he  rode 
to  the  rear  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  General  Grant, 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  373 

leaving  Longstreet  in  charge  of  the  little  band  now  confront 
ing  Sheridan.  During  the  hurry  of  the  pursuit,  Grant 
became  convinced  that  the  condition  of  the  rebel  was  entirely 
hopeless,  and  accordingly,  on  arriving  at  Farmville,  on  the 
7th  of  April,  he  had  written,  and  sent  by  flag  of  truce  to 
General  Lee,  the  following  humane  and  characteristic  note  : 

"  GENERAL, — The  result  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you  of  the 
hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty 
to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  effusion  of  blood, 
by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the  Confederate 
States  army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia." 

To  which  Lee  replied  at  once,  but  with  his  accustomed 
caution : 

"  GENERAL, — I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date.  Though  not 
entertaining  the  opinion  you  express  on  the  hopelessness  of  further  re 
sistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate 
your  desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore,  before 
considering  your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you  will  offer  on  condition 
of  its  surrender." 

This  letter  did  not  reach  the  Lieutenant- General  till  the 
morning  of  the  8th,  just  as  he  was  setting  out  from  Farmville 
to  hurry  forward  the  pursuit,  but  he  answered  immediately : 

"  GENERAL, — Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to  mine  of  same 
date,  asking  the  conditions  on  which  I  will  accept  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  is  just  received.  In  reply  I  would  say,  that 
Peace  being  my  great  desire,  there  is  but  one  condition  I  would  insist 
upon,  namely :  that  the  men  and  officers  surrendered  shall  be  disqual 
ified  for  taking  up  arms  again  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  until  properly  exchanged.  I  will  meet  you,  or  will  designate 
officers  to  meet  any  officers  you  may  name  for  the  same  purpose,  at 
any  point  agreeable  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  definitely  the 
terms  upon  which  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will 
be  received." 

This  communication  reached  Lee  late  in  the  afternoon, 
while  hurrying  his  army  forward  in  its  weary  flight  to  save 
it  from  entire  destruction ;  and  although  sorely  pressed,  he 


374  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

replied  the  same  evening  in  the  following  disingenuous  and 
diplomatic  terms : 

«  GENERAL,— I  received,  at  a  late  hour,  your  note  of  to-day.  In 
mine  of  yesterday  I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your  proposition. 
To  be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  arisen  to  call  for  the  surren 
der  of  this  army ;  but  as  the  restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole 
object  of  all,  I  desired  to  know  whether  your  proposal  would  lead  to 
that  end.  1  cannot,  therefore,  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surrender  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  as  far  as  your  proposals  may  affect  the 
Confederate  States  forces  under  my  command  and  tend  to  the  restora 
tion  of  peace,  I  should  be  pleased  to  meet  you  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  to 
morrow,  on  the  old  stage-road  to  Richmond,  between  the  picket-lines 
of  the  two  armies." 

General  Grant  was  not  for  a  moment  deceived  by  the  con 
fident  tone  of  this  letter  nor  misled  by  the  anxiety  of  its 
writer  to  treat  for  peace.  The  letter  reached  him  at  mid 
night,  but  knowing  that  he  could  lose  nothing  by  letting  the 
negotiation  take  its  natural  course,  he  did  not  reply  till  the 
next  morning  after  the  army  had  been  put  in  motion  towards 
Appomattox  Court  House.  His  answer,  dated  April  9th,  was 
as  follows:  ^ 

"  GENERAL, — Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  I  have  no  author 
ity  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace ;  the  meeting  proposed  for  ten 
o'clock  A.  M.  to-day  could  lead  to  no  good.  I  will  state,  however,  Gen 
eral,  that  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  yourself,  and  the  whole 
North  entertains  the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon  which  peace  can 
be  had  are  well  understood.  By  the  South  laying  down  their  arms 
they  will  hasten  that  most  desirable  event,  save  thousands  of  human 
lives  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  property  not  yet  destroyed.  Seri 
ously  hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may  be  settled  without  the  loss  of 
another  life,  I  subscribe  myself,"  &c. 

Lee  had  by  this  time  discovered  that  an  emergency  *  had 

*  There  can  be  no  doubt  in  history  that  General  Lee,  in  taking  his  army 
away  from  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  had  decided,  in  his  own  mind,  upon 
the  hopelessness  of  the  war,  and  had  predetermined  its  surrender.  The  most 
striking  proof  of  this  is,  that  in  his  retreat  there  was  no  order  published 
against  straggling— a  thing  unprecedented  in  all  deliberate  and  strategic  re 
treats — and  nothing  whatever  done  to  maintain  discipline.  The  men  were 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  375 

arisen  to  call  for  the  surrender  of  his  army,  and  receiving 
General  Grant's  letter  at  the  outposts,  he  replied  at  once : 

"  GENERAL, — I  received  your  note  of  this  morning,  on  the  picket- 
line,  whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you  and  ascertain  definitely  what 
terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposal  of  yesterday  with  reference  to 
the  surrender  of  this  army.  I  now  ask  an  interview  in  accordance  with 
the  offer  contained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for  that  purpose." 

General  Grant  was  in  the  meantime  pushing  on  towards 
the  head  of  the  army,  when  this  clear  and  unequivocal  de 
mand  for  a  meeting,  overtook  him ;  staying  his  horse  for  a 
few  minutes,  he  wrote  as  follows : 

"  GENERAL, — Your  note  of  this  date  is  but  this  moment  (11.50)  re 
ceived.  In  consequence  of  my  having  passed  from  the  Richmond  and 
Lynchburg  to  the  Farmville  and  Lynchburg  Road,  I  am,  at  this  writing, 
about  four  miles  west  of  Walter's  Church,  and  will  push  forward  to  the 
front  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  yon.  Notice  sent  to  me  on  this  road, 
where  you  wish  the  interview  to  take  place,  will  meet  me." 

Hurrying  on  to  Appomattox  Court  House  he  stayed  the 
threatened  onset  of  Sheridan  and  Ord,  and  sent  word  to 
Meade  to  restrain  his  army  during  the  negotiations.  The 

not  animated  by  the  style  of  general  orders  usual  on  such  occasions.  They 
straggled  and  deserted  almost  at  will.  An  idea  ran  through  the  Virginia 
troops  that  with  the  abandonment  of  Richmond  the  war  was  hopeless,  and 
that  they  would  be  justified  in  refusing  to  fight  outside  the  limits  of  their 
State.  Nothing  was  done  to  check  the  well-known  circulation  of  this  notion 
in  the  army.  The  Virginia  troops  dropped  off  to  their  homes  at  almost  every 
mile  of  the  route.  We  have  seen  that  Pickett  was  left  with  only  a  handful  of 
men.  Some  of  the  brigade  commanders  had  not  hesitated  to  advise  their  sol 
diers  that  the  war  was  virtually  over,  and  that  they  had  better  go  home  and 
"  make  crops."  . 

But  there  are  other  proofs,  besides  the  omission  of  the  measures  against 
straggling  usual  on  retreats,  that  General  Lee  had  foreseen  a  surrender  of  his 
army.  He  carried  off  from  Petersburg  and  Richmond  all  the  transportation 
of  his  army,  sufficient,  perhaps,  for  one  hundred  thousand  men,  certainly 
largely  in  excess  of  the  actual  needs  of  the  retreat.  The  excessive  number 
of  Virginia  troops  who  were  permitted  to  drop  ont  of  the  ranks  and  return  to 
their  homes,  shows  very  well  that  there  was  no  firm  purpose  to  carry  the  war 
out  of  the  limits  of  the  State.  Prisoners  taken  on  the  retreat  invariably 
reported  that  the  army  was  soon  to  be  halted  for  a  surrender ;  and  General 
Custis  Lee,  when  captured,  is  alleged  to  have  made  the  same  revelation  of  his 
father's  designs. — "  Southern  History  of  the  War,"  pp.  507-8. 


376  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

meeting  between  General  Grant  and  General  Lee  took  place 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wilmer  McLean,  in  the  village  of  Appo- 
rnattox  Court  House.  The  Chieftains  were  attended  by  the 
members  of  their  staffs,  and  proceeded,  after  polite  greet 
ings,  at  once  to  the  business  which  had  brought  them  together, 
and  by  half-past  three  o'clock  the  agreement  for  surrender  was 
perfected.  The  deportment  of  the  Lieutenant-General  is  de 
scribed  by  Pollard,  the  rebel  historian,  in  the  following  words  : 

"  It  is  to  be  fairly  and  cheerfully  admitted  that  General  Grant's  con 
duct,  with  respect  to  all  the  circumstances  of  the  surrender,  exhibited 
some  extraordinary  traits  of  magnanimity.  He  had  not  dramatized 
the  affair.  He  had  conducted  it  with  as  much  simplicity  as  possible, 
avoided  '  sensation/  and  spared  everything  that  might  wound  the  feel 
ings  or  imply  the  humiliation  of  a  vanquished  foe.  Such  conduct  was 
noble.  Before  the  surrender,  General  Grant  had  expressed  to  his  own 
officers  his  intention  not  to  require  the  same  formalities  as  are  required 
in  a  surrender  between  the  forces  of  two  foreign  nations  or  belligerent 
powers,  and  to  exact  no  conditions  for  the  mere  purpose  of  humiliation." 

The  conduct  of  the  entire  army  was  governed  by  the  same 
high  sense  of  honor  and  propriety.  No  rebel  soldier  or  offi 
cer  was  harshly  addressed  or  unkindly  treated,  but  every 
thing  was  done  that  generous  men  could  do  to  alleviate  their 
sufferings  and  supply  their  wants.  When  the  surrender  was 
definitely  announced  the  different  divisions  and  brigades 
throughout  the  victorious  host  rent  the  air  with  deafening 
cheers ;  men  and  officers  went  wild  with  delight.  The  war 
was  now  ended  !  The  citizen  soldiery,  whose  constancy  and 
courage  had  so  long  maintained  the  integrity  of  the  Republic 
were  finally  blessed  with  a  triumph  such  as  few  armies  have 
ever  gained.  That  night  they  dreamed  of  home  and  friends, 
or  around  their  camp  fires,  with  hearts  too  full  for  sleep,  talked 
of  the  bright  future  which  now  seemed  assured  for  their 
country  and  themselves. 

The  terms  of  surrender  as  fixed  by  General  Grant  are  set 
forth  in  the  following  letter,  dated  April  9th,  and  addressed 
to  General  Lee : 

"  GENERAL, — In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to  you 
of  the  8th  instant,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  377 

Northern  Virginia  on  the  following  terms,  to  wit :  Rolls  of  all  officers 
and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer 
to  be  designated  by  me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officer  or  offi 
cers  as  you  may  designate.  The  officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles 
not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  until 
properly  exchanged,  and  each  company  or  regimental  commander  to  sign 
a  like  parole  for  the  men  of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and 
public  property  to  be  parked  and  stacked,  and  turned  over  to  the  offi 
cers  appointed  by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not  embrace  the 
side-arms  of  the  officers,  nor  the  private  horses,  or  baggage.  This 
done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  home,  not 
to  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authority  so  long  as  they  observe 
their  paroles  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside." 

General  Lee  at  once  accepted  these  terms,  and  General 
Grant  appointed  Generals  Griffin  and  MacKenzie  to  remain 
with  their  commands  at  Appomattox  Court  House  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  them  into  effect,  while  the  rest  of  the 
army  returned  to  Burkesville  Junction,  where  they  could 
receive  supplies  by  rail. 

General  Grant  did  not  yet  regard  his  labor  as  finished, 
though  Lee's  surrender  was  the  signal  for  the  surrender  of  all 
the  other  armed  forces  of  the  rebellion,  and  as  soon  as  the 
news  could  be  spread,  put  an  end  to  hostilities  throughout 
the  land. 

Johnston  surrendered  to  Sherman  on  the  25th  of  April,  on 
the  same  terms  that  had  been  accorded  to  Lee ;  Cobb  sur 
rendered  to  Wilson  at  Macon  on  the  20th  of  April ;  Dick 
Taylor,  at  Citronelle,  Ala.,  surrendered  to  Canby  on  the  4th 
of  May  ;  but  Kirby  Smith,  commanding  the  trans-Missis 
sippi  Department,  seemed  defiant  till  he  heard  of  Davis' 
capture,  and  the  movement  of  a  heavy  army  to  his  Depart 
ment  under  Sheridan,  when  he  left  his  army  to  disband  itself; 
Buckner,  with  the  small  force  which  retained  its  organization, 
surrendered  on  the  26th  of  May. 

The  movement  of  Sheridan  with  a  large  and  well-appointed 
army  to  the  Mexican  frontier,  had  a  deeper  significance,  how 
ever,  than  could  be  attached  to  any  movement  against  the 
remnant  of  rebel  power  which  might  show  itself  in  Texas. 
General  Grant  had  long  looked  upon  the  French  invasion  of 


378  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Mexico,  and  the  forced  establishment  of  the  Mexican  Empire 
under  Maximilian,  as  acts  of  open  hostility  against  the 
United  States,  by  the  avowed  allies  of  the  slave-holders' 
rebellion,  and  therefore  regarded  the  French  army,  then 
occupying  that  unfortunate  country,  as  the  next  objective 
against  which  the  Government  should  direct  its  forces.  It 
is  due  to  the  Lieutenant-General  to  add  that  the  avowal  of 
this  well  known  opinion  on  his  part,  did  more  to  bring  about 
a  peaceable  solution  of  the  Mexican  question  than  all  the 
arguments  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  supported  by  the  entire 
strength  of  the  Mexican  people. 

As  soon  as  the  insurgent  forces  had  been  paroled  and  sent 
to  their  houses,  Grant  collected  the  different  armies  at  con 
venient  places,  and,  under  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary 
of  War,  disbanded  them  with  all  possible  despatch — and  that 
mighty  host  of  citizen  soldiery,  which,  under  his  leadership, 
had  been  taught  every  secret  of  the  military  art,  now  re 
turned  to  the  pursuits  of  peace,  becoming  at  once  the  most 
quiet,  orderly,  law-abiding,  and  respectable  members  of  so 
ciety.  When  European  nations  can  thus  disband  their  huge 
standing  armies,  and  depend  for  the  safety  of  Government 
upon  the  virtue,  patriotism,  and  intelligence,  of  their  people, 
a  happy  epoch  will  have  dawned  upon  the  world. 

As  a  more  substantial  reward  for  his  extraordinary  servi 
ces  than  collegiate  degrees  and  popular  ovations,  which  were 
bestowed  upon  him  in  profusion,  Grant  was  promoted  to  the 
full  grade  of  General  on  the  25th  of  July,  1866. 


CHAPTEE    XXXVI. 

GRANT  SECRETARY  OF  WAR  AD  INTERIM  —  HIS  PREVIOUS  COURSE 
ON  RECONSTRUCTION  —  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT  —  THE 
RECONSTRUCTION  ACTS — SELECTION  OF  THE  FIVE  COMMANDERS  — 

HIS  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  THEM — HIS  RELUCTANCE  TO  TAKE  THE  WAR 
OFFICE — HIS  MOTIVES  FOR  ACCEPTING  IT — JOHNSON'S  DISSIMULA 
TION —  CONDITION  OF  THE  SOUTH  —  REMOVAL  OF  SHERIDAN — 
GRANT'S  PROTEST — REMOVAL  OF  SICKLES  AND  POPE — DIFFICULTIES 
OF  GRANT'S  POSITION  —  HIS  GREAT  LABORS  AND  CONCILIATORY 
SPIRIT — SUCCESS  OF  HIS  ADMINISTRATION — RETRENCHMENT  AND 
REFORM  IN  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT— rGREAT  REDUCTION  OF  EX 
PENDITURES — COMMENDATION  OF  THE  PRESIDENT — THE  ANNUAL 
REPORT  OF  GRANT  AS  SECRETARY. 

ON  the  12th  of  August,  1867,  General  Grant  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  War  ad  interim.  This  being  the  first  civil  office 
he  ever  held,  it  is  interesting  to  inquire  into  the  manner  in 
which  he  discharged  its  duties. 

Throughout  the  fifteen  months  that  had  intervened  since 
the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  forces,  he  had  been  desirous 
of  seeing  a  reconstruction  of  the  Union  on  a  just,  liberal  and 
safe  basis.  He  had  not  been  required  to  devise  or  propose  a 
plan  of  reconstruction,  that  task  being  confided  to  the  Legis 
lative  and  Executive  Departments.  As  head  of  the  army, 
he  had  stood  ready  to  co-operate  in  carrying  out  any  plan 
which  they  might  agree  upon. 

When  Congress  presented  to  the  States,  for  their  ratifica 
tion,  the  Constitutional  Amendment,  commonly  known  as 
Article  XIV.,  he  saw  that  it  opened  a  way  through  which 
the  South  might,  at  an  early  day,  emerge  from  its  anomalous 
and  irksome  position,  and  resume  the  exclusive  control  of  its 


380  LTFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

affairs.  Acting  upon  the  promptings  of  unwise  counsels,  the 
Southern  States  repudiated  this  magnanimous  plan  by  reject- 
ting  the  amendment ;  and  thereupon,  Congress,  after  mature 
consideration,  passed  the  reconstruction  acts  of  March,  1867. 

These  acts  imposed  upon  Grant  as  Commander-in-Chief 
many  weighty  and  delicate  duties.  The  five  military  com 
manders  of  the  several  districts  provided  for  by  these  acts,\ 
were  selected  by  the  joint  advice  of  the  President,  the  Sec^ 
retary  of  War  and  the  General-in-Chief.  The  selection  was 
'deemed  eminently  wise,  and  the  assignment  to  the  respective 
districts  highly  judicious.  In  his  original  instructions  to  the 
district  commanders,  and  in  his  subsequent  correspondence 
with  them,  Grant,  while  impressing  them  with  the  idea  that 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law  were  to  be  the  guide  of  their 
conduct,  counseled  moderation  and  forbearance  towards  the 
people  of  the  South.  From  the  time  of  the  surrender  down 
through  the  entire  period  under  consideration,  his  official  in 
tercourse  with  the  Southern  population  of  all  classes  was  that 
of  an  urbane  magistrate  rather  than  a  soldier  clothed  with 
supreme  powers ;  and  no  man  below  the  Potomac  and  the 
Ohio  can  justly  say  that  he  has  ever  felt  the  undue  pressure 
of  his  mailed  hand. 

General  Grant  had  not  sought  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
War  ad  interim,  and  he  took  the  post  with  great  reluctance. 
He  did  not  recognize  the  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  De 
partment  at  that  juncture,  having,  to  use  his  own  language 
in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Stanton,  full  confidence  in  "  the  zeal, 
patriotism,  firmness  and  ability "  wherewith  that  gentleman 
had  discharged  its  duties.  He  had  privately  remonstrated 
with  the  President  against  the  change,  and  he  finally  lodged 
with  him  an  earnest  written  protest  against  it. 

He  feared  that  the  suspension  of  Mr.  Stanton,  at  that 
critical  stage  in  the  reconstruction  measures,  would  operate 
injuriously  in  the  South,  encouraging  opposition  to  a  plan  of 
restoration,  which,  in  its  essential  features,  he  deemed  inevi 
table,  inspiring  hopes  that  it  could  be  broken  down,  inflaming 
the  smouldering  embers  of  rebellion,  and  disheartening  those 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  881 

Southern  citizens  who  were  laboring  in  good  faith  to  carry  it 
into  effect.  He  regarded  the  suspension  as  inopportune  so 
soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Senate,  when  no  new  rea 
sons  to  justify  it  had  since  arisen.  "  It  is,"  said  Grant  in  his 
protest,  "  but  a  short  time  since  the  Senate  was  in  session, 
and  why  not  then  have  asked  for  his  removal  if  it  was 
desired?"  He  deprecated  it  because  it  would  widen  the 
existing  breach  between  the  President  and  Congress,  at  a 
period  when  it  was  especially  important  that  all  brunches  of 
the  Government  should  harmoniously  co-operate  in  the  deli 
cate  work  of  restoring  the  Union. 

General  Grant  was  averse  to  taking  the  position  himself 
because  it  would  throw  upon  him  the  burdens  of  two  im 
portant  offices,  when  he  was  already  heavily  laden  with  the 
cares  of  one  of  them ;  and  he  felt  that  every  thing  he  could 
do  in  aid  of  the  work  of  reconstruction,  he  could  as  well 
perform  in  his  sole  capacity  of  General-in-Chief.  But  the 
President  thrust  the  office  upon  him,  and  Grant  has  since 
avowed,  that  inasmuch  as  the  suspension  of  Stanton  was  a 
foregone  conclusion,  he  took  the  place  rather  than  that  it 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  supple  or  unpatriotic 
person.  If  Grant's  motives  in  accepting  it  did  not  comport 
with  the  President's  intentions  in  conferring  it,  this  is  not 
discreditable  to  Grant,  however  it  may  affect  the  President. 
If,  as  the  sequel  proves,  Mr.  Johnson  had  sinister  ends  in 
view  in  these  proceedings,  and  hoped  ultimately  to  mould 
Grant  to  his  purposes,  or  in  some  way  use  him  in  attaining 
those  ends,  his  failure  only  reflects  the  more  honor  upon 
Grant,  while  it  leaves  Johnson  in  the  unenviable  predica 
ment  of  a  baffled  seducer,  who  had  the  will  but  lacked  the 
honor  to  accomplish  his  evil  designs. 

Grant  held  the  post  of  War  Secretary  five  months,  per 
forming  at  the  same  time  the  duties  of  General-in-Chief.  He 
took  the  office  at  a  period  of  great  embarrassment.  The  diffi 
culties  that  beset  his  administration  from  the  opening  to  the 
close,  were  constant  and  harassing.  Sharp  collisions  be 
tween  the  President  and  Congress,  which  had  been  increasing 


382  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 

in  asperity  for  more  than  a  twelve-month,  had  kindled  a  spirit 
of  inflamed  hostility  to  the  Federal  Government  in  the  five 
military  districts,  which,  in  many  localities,  had  risen  almost 
to  the  height  of  insurrection,  in  some  had  broken  out  in 
actual  violence,  while  in  New  Orleans  there  had  been  a  pro 
fuse  shedding  of  blood.  Hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Presi- 
dent  towards  three  of  the  district  commanders,  serious  when 
Grant  took  the  office,  increased  in  intensity  till  Johnson 
finally  dismissed  them  from  their  posts. 

Five  days  after  Grant  entered  the  Department,  General 
Sheridan,  who  had  managed  his  turbulent  district  with  mar 
velous  skill,  was,  against  Grant's  protest,  removed  from 
command,  throwing  the  district  into  confusion,  and  heaping 
unexpected  troubles  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  General-in- 
Chief.  As  this  protest  exhibits  a  warmth  of  sentiment  not 
usually  attributable  to  its  author,  we  for  that  reason,  as  well 
as  because  of  the  important  character  of  the  document,  copy 
its  main  paragraphs.  It  is  addressed  to  the  President,  and 
bears  date  August  1,  1867.  After  objecting  to  the  suspen 
sion  of  Mr.  Stan  ton,  General  Grant  goes  on  to  say  : 

"  On  the  subject  of  the  removal  of  the  very  able  commander  of  the 
fifth  military  district,  let  me  ask  you  to  consider  the  effect  it  would 
have  upon  the  public.  He  is  universally  and  deservedly  beloved  by 
the  people  who  sustained  this  Government  through  its  trials,  and 
feared  by  those  who  would  still  be  enemies  of  the  Government.  It 
fell  to  the  lot  of  but  few  men  to  do  as  much  against  an  armed  enemy 
as  General  Sheridan  did  during  the  rebellion,  and  it  is  within  the  scope 
of  the  ability  of  but  few  in  this  or  other  country  to  do  what  he  has. 
His  civil  administration  has  given  equal  satisfaction.  He  has  had  dif 
ficulties  to  contend  with  which  no  other  district  commander  has  en 
countered.  Almost  if  not  quite  from  the  day  he  was  appointed  district 
commander  to  the  present  time,  the  press  has  given  out  that  he  was  to 
be  removed ;  that  the  administration  was  dissatisfied  with  him,  etc. 
This  has  emboldened  the  opponents  to  the  laws  of  Congress  within  his 
command  to  oppose  him  in  every  way  in  their  power,  and  has  rendered 
necessary  measures  which  otherwise  might  never  have  been  necessary. 
In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  say,  as  a  friend  desiring  peace  and  quiet,  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  country,  North  and  South,  that  it  is  in  my  opinion 
more  than  the  loyal  people  of  this  country  (I  mean  those  who  supported 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  383 

the  Government  during  the  great  rebellion)  will  quietly  sumbit  to,  to 
see  the  very  man  of  all  others  whom  they  have  expressed  confidence  in 
removed." 

Kegardless  of  these  protestations,  Johnson  issued  the  order 
for  the  removal  of  Sheridan  on  the  17th  of  August.  On 
the  same  day,  before  the  order  was  past  recall,  Grant,  in  his 
double  capacity  of  General  and  Secretary,  addressed  an  elo 
quent  letter  to  the  President,  hoping  to  stay  his  hand,  assuring 
him  that  there  were  "  military  reasons,  pecuniary  reasons, 
and  above  all,  patriotic  reasons,  why  this  should  not  be  insisted 
upon ; ''  and  reminding  him,  that  "  General  Sheridan  had 
performed  his  civil  duties  faithfully  and  intelligently;"  and 
warning  him  that  "  his  removal  will  only  be  regarded  as  an 
effort  to  defeat  the  laws  of  Congress.  It  will  be  interpreted 
by  the  unreconstructed  element  in  the  South,  those  who  did 
all  they  could  to  break  up  this  Government  by  arms,  and  now 
wish  to  be  the  only  element  consulted  as  to  the  method  of 
restoring  order,  as  a  triumph.  It  will  embolden  them  to 
renewed  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  loyal  masses,  believing 
that  they  have  the  Executive  with  them."  But  all  was  in 
vain.  The  hero  of  Winchester  was  sacrificed.  Ten  days 
afterwards,  General  Sickles,  who  had  so  wisely  conducted 
affairs  in  the  Second  District,  composed  of  the  Carolinas,  as 
to  win  the  confidence  of  the  great  majority  of  all  classes  of 
their  population,  was  also  removed  against  the  earnest  wishes 
of  Grant,  thus  increasing  his  anxieties  and  cares,  and  causing 
unusual  disquietude  in  that  important  district.  Ultimately 
General  Pope,  who  had  shown  rare  judgment  in  managing 
the  great  department  of  which  Georgia  was  a  leading  mem 
ber,  was  removed,  disarranging  his  well  matured  plans  for 
hastening  forward  reconstruction  in  that  State  and  in  Ala 
bama. 

For  the  removal  of  these  three  distinguished  commanders, 
scarcely  a  specious  pretext  was  offered  by  the  President. 
Certainly  no  solid  reason  was  ever  given  for  dealing  such 
wanton  blows  over  the  head  of  Grant  at  his  trustworthy 
subordinates.  Under  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 


384  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   8.  GRANT. 

then  placed,  the  South  trembling  on  the  verge  of  anarchy, 
it  was  hardly  less  embarrassing  to  deprive  him  of  the  saga 
cious  judgment  and  ripe  experience  of  these  three  officers  than 
it  would  have  been  to  have  taken  Sherman  and  McPherson 
from  him  at  Vicksburg,  and  Meade,  Sedgwick  and  Hancock 
at  the  Wilderness,  and  Sheridan  at  Five  Forks.  But  he 
bore  these  more  than  insults  with  his  proverbial  equanimity, 
and  zealously  co-operated  with  the  successors  of  his  tried 
Generals  in  prosecuting  the  work  of  restoring  the  Union. 

When  General  Grant  entered  the  War  Office,  the  recon 
struction  acts  as  they  had  been  modified  at  the  session  of 
Congress  in  July,  were  just  going  into  active  operation  in  all 
the  districts.  The  registration  of  votes,  the  calling  of  State 
conventions  to  frame  constitutions  and  other  preliminary 
steps  towards  restoring  the  South  to  its  former  relation  to 
the  Union,  were  being  initiated.  This  daily  demanded  from 
him  as  Secretary  of  Wrar  and  General-in-Chief,  expositions 
and  applications  of  unprecedented  and  not  always  lucid 
statutes,  necessitating  the  solution  of  complicated  problems 
which  involved  conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  the  military 
and  the  magistracy,  collisions  between  antagonistic  and  rival 
classes  of  the  people,  the  removal  from  office  of  governors, 
judges,  and  custodians  of  public  money,  and  the  appoint 
ment  of  incumbents  to  supply  the  vacancies,  and,  indeed,  all 
conceivable  questions  of  right  and  of  policy  that  could  arise 
in  ten  inchoate  States,  smarting  under  humiliation,  whelmed 
in  poverty,  two-thirds  of  whose  populace  were  inflamed  with 
passion  and  prone  to  disorder,  while  the  other  third,  though 
peacefully  disposed,  was  steeped  in  ignorance  and  could  exert 
but  little  influence  upon  public  affairs.  To  evoke  order,  con 
tentment  and  prosperity  out  of  this  civil,  social  and  financial 
chaos,  and  to  construct  a  solid  political  edifice  out  of  the  i 
debris  of  the  shattered  Confederacy  was  the  task  committed  \ 
to  Grant  and  his  subordinate  commanders. 

The  execution  of  this  task  would  have  been  to  the  last 
degree  difficult,  even  if  Grant  had  been  sustained  by  the 
harmonious  co-operation  of  the  great  branches  of  the  Gov- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  385 

ernment,  and  encouraged  by  the  united  loyal  sentiment  of  the 
country.  But  instead  of  this,  Congress  and  the  President 
were  at  open  war,  and  each  was  jealously  watching  him.  A 
large  part  of  the  Republican  press  was  sharply  criticising  him 
for  having  accepted  the  War  Department,  while  the  Demo 
cratic  journals  were  either  insidiously  flattering  him  in  the 
hope  of  drawing  him  into  the  quarrel  between  the  Executive 
and  Congress,  or  coldly  waiting  to  see  whether  he  would  prove 
to  be  a  "  radical "  or  a  "  copperhead,"  and  not  seeming  to 
care  which  he  might  turn  out  to  be.  Mr.  Johnson,  too, 
aided  by  wily  members  of  his  Cabinet,  was  on  the  alert  to 
entangle  him  in  the  toils  so  that  he  might,  through  him, 
carry  out  the  sinister  purposes  which  had  inspired  the  sus 
pension  of  Stanton  and  his  appointment. 

Thus  sorely  tried,  it  would  have  been  natural  to  expect 
that  his  administration  would,  at  the  least,  have  been  marred 
by  numerous  and  serious  blunders ;  nor  would  it  have  been 
surprising  if  he  had  made  utter  shipwreck  of  his  department 
and  of  his  own  fame.  But  the  dispassionate  pen  of  history 
will  record  that  in  the  face  of  these  severe  provocations,  and 
in  spite  of  these  harassing  difficulties,  he  bore  himself  with 
exemplary  caution,  patience  and  urbanity,  and  performed  his 
high  duties  with  extraordinary  ability,  vigor  and  success. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  during  these  five  eventful  months,  he- 
filled  both  his  offices  up  to  the  measure  of  the  expectations  of 
his  most  sanguine  friends. 

The  correspondence  and  documents  emanating  from  the- 
War  Department  while  under  General  Grant's  charge,  many 
of  them  of  great  importance  and  marked  ability,  would  alone 
fill  volumes.  It  was  one  of  the  busiest  periods  of  the  last 
seven  years  of  his  life.  In  tracing  his  course  while  in  the 
War  Office,  we  must  necessarily  refrain  from  going  into  de 
tails,  and  be  content  with  viewing  the  subject  in  its  general 
aspects.  Nor  need  we  do  otherwise  ;  for  his  words  and  deed-s 
while  officiating  in  this  capacity  are  familiar  to  his  country 
men.  Turning  our  attention  from  the  higher  duties  we- 
have  been  contemplating,  and  scanning  the  minor  measures 


386  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

that  distinguished  his  administration,  we  find  him  institut 
ing  searching  and  salutary  reforms  in  all  branches  of  the 
Department. 

,  In  his  annual  report  as  Secretary  ad  interim,  he  says : 
!"  Retrenchment  was  the  first  subject  to  attract  my  attention." 
|  To  the  solid  value  of  his  services  in  this  particular,  as  well 
as  to  the  useful  reforms  he  introduced  during  his  brief  term 
of  office,  the  President,  no  partial  witness,  bears  ample  testi 
mony.  Mr.  Johnson,  in  his  message  to  the  Senate,  giving 
reasons  for  the  suspension  of  Mr.  Stanton,  says,  speaking  of 
Grant:  "Salutary  reforms  have  been  introduced  by  the 
Secretary  ad  interim,  and  great  reductions  of  expenses  have 
been  affected  under  his  administration  of  the  War  Depart  - 
ment,  to  the  saving  of  millions  to  the  Treasury." 

By  his  direction  while  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim,  the 
duties  of  the  Bureaus  of  Rebel  Archives  and  of  exchange  of 
prisoners,  were  transferred  to  the  Adjutant-General's  Office, 
thus  dispensing  with  the  services  of  a  great  number  of  officers 
and  clerks.  He  reduced  the  number  of  agents  and  subordi 
nates  in  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  and  largely  curtailed  its  ex 
penses  ;  closed  useless  hospitals  and  dispensaries ;  discontinued 
a  long  list  of  superfluous  mustering  and  disbursing  offices,  dis 
charging  their  numerous  incumbents  and  attendants,  and  thus 
stopping  the  needless  expenditure  of  considerable  sums.  He 
sold  surplus  animals,  ambulances,  wagons,  etc.,  to  the  amount 
of  §33,535 ;  and  superfluous  and  useless  stores  and  war  material 
of  various  kinds,  amounting  to  $268,000 ;  and  one  thousand 
temporary  buildings  used  by  quartermasters,  for  the  sum  of 
$112,000.  He  ordered  the  chief  quartermasters  through 
out  the  country  to  make  every  practicable  reduction  in  the 
number  of  employes  on  duty  under  their  direction. 

The  result  was,  that  in  a  short  time  the  monthly  expenses 
of  that  Department,  arising  from  the  hire  of  civilians,  had 
been  reduced  by  $407,065,  making  an  annual  saving  in  this 
item  alone  of  nearly  $5,000,000.  Besides  the  class  of  employes 
just  mentioned,  the  numbers  of  mechanics,  laborers,  and 
others,  in  various  branches  of  the  service,  were  so  reduced 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  387 

that  the  monthly  expenditures  in  this  particular  were  cur 
tailed  full  $100,000,  making  an  annual  saving  of  more  than 
$1,200,000.  He  caused  many  unnecessary  commissaries  of 
volunteers  to  be  mustered  out,  reduced  the  number  of  pay 
masters,  and  greatly  curtailed  the  cost  of  transport  for  men 
and  munitions  of  war  in  the  Western  States  and  territories 
where  Indian  hostilities  were  then  prevailing.  He  recom 
mended  the  sale  of  four  small  arsenals  and  two  or  three 
armories,  they,  in  his  opinion,  not  being  needed  for  the  ser 
vice.  He  stopped  the  manufacture  of  large  guns,  then  going 
on  at  great  expense,  until  their  efficiency  could  be  more 
thoroughly  tested.  He  warmly  seconded  all  the  suggestions 
of  the  heads  of  Bureaus  which  aimed  to  reduce  the  expendi 
tures  of  their  several  branches  of  the  service,  and  secure 
greater  efficiency  and  a  more  rigid  accountability  among 
their  subordinates  and  agents.  In  a  word,  he  instituted  or 
recommended  economy  and  retrenchment,  the  reformation  of 
abuses,  and  measures  tending  to  produce  greater  vigor,  closer 
scrutiny,  and  a  keener  sense  of  responsibility  in  the  Adjutant 
General's  office,  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  the  Inspector  Gene 
ral's  office,  the  Quartermaster's,  Commissary,  Pay,  Engineer 
and  Ordnance  Bureaus,  and  in  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point. 

In  his  annual  report  he  bestows  commendation  upon  his 
associates  and  subordinates  with  the  same  liberal  and  gener 
ous  hand  that  characterized  his  reports  of  army  operations 
during  the  continuance  of  hostilities.  Speaking  of  the  com 
manders  in  the  Southern  States,  he  says  :  "  I  am  pleased  to 
say,  that  the  commanders  of  the  five  military  districts  have 
executed  their  difficult  trusts  faithfully,  and  without  bias 
from  any  judgment  of  their  own  as  to  the  merit  or  demerit  of 
the  law  they  were  executing."  Like  everything  from  his 
pen,  this  report  is  plain  and  concise,  wisely  selecting  and 
appropriately  arranging  its  materials,  and  exhibiting  much 
valuable  information  in  a  style  at  once  compact  and  luminous. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

CONTROVERSY  BETWEEN  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON  AND  GRANT— TENURE  OF 
OFFICE  ACT — JOHNSON  TREATS  IT  AS  VALID — THE  SENATE  REFUSES 
TO  CONCUR  IN  HIS  SUSPENSION  OF  STANTON— JOHNSON'S  DUPLIC 
ITY — GRANT'S  INTERVIEWS  WITH  HIM — HIS  ALLEGED  PROMISE — 
HIS  DENIAL  OF  IT — QUESTION  OF  VERACITY  BETWEEN  THEM — 
JOHNSON'S  WITNESSES — THEIR  CHARACTER — THEIR  TESTIMONY 
— BROWNING'S  STATEMENT — HE  SUSTAINS  GRANT — JOHNSON  AIMS 
TO  CONTROL  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT — HIS  UNLAWFUL  PURPOSES — 
GRANT  EXPLODES  THE  PLOT  AND  AVERTS  THE  DANGER — HIS  CON 
DUCT  AFTER  HE  LEFT  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT — THE  SUCCESS  OF 
RECONSTRUCTION  LARGELY  DUE  TO  GRANT — HIS  COURSE  RESPECT 
ING  THE  IMPEACHMENT  OF  JOHNSON — HIS  NOMINATION  FOR  THE 
PRESIDENCY  BY  THE  TWO  CHICAGO  CONVENTIONS — HIS  POLITICAL 
POSITION. 

AFTER  the  assembling  of  Congress,  the  President,  on  the 
12th  of  December,  1867,  sent  to  the  Senate  a  message  contain 
ing  his  reasons  for  the  suspension  of  Mr.  Stanton.  This  was 
an  admission  that  the  suspension  was  effected  under  the  Tenure 
of  Office  Act.  Otherwise,  why  submit  this  message  to  the 
Senate  ?  It  afterwards  transpired  that  on  the  14th  of  August 
the  President  addressed  an  official  communication  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  informing  him  that  he  had,  by  virtue 
of  this  act,  suspended  Mr.  Stanton  and  appointed  General 
Grant  in  his  place.  Mr.  Johnson  further  recognized  its  bind 
ing  force  by  making  removals  and  appointments  in  accordance 
with  its  provisions ;  and  his  Cabinet  acted  under  it  by  so 
changing  the  forms  of  commissions  of  officers  as  to  meet  its 
requirements. 

In  this  act,  therefore,  Johnson  stood  committed  when  he 
entered  upon  his  controversy  with  Grant  in  January ;  and  in 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  389 

any  inquiry  into  the  merits  of  that  controversy,  he  cannot  be 
allowed  to  change  his  ground.  In  regard  to  this  act,  Grant's 
position  has  always  been,  that  like  all  other  laws  imposing 
duties  upon  him,  he  must  obey  it  till  some  competent  tribunal 
declares  it  invalid  and  releases  him  from  his  obligations. 

The  Senate,  on  the  14th  of  January,  after  considering  the 
reasons  of  the  President  for  the  suspension  of  Stanton,  re 
fused  to  concur  therein,  and  thereupon  immediately  notified 
Johnson,  Stanton  and  Grant  of  their  decision.  By  the  terms 
of  the  law,  Grant's  duties  as  Secretary  ad  interim  then  in 
stantly  ceased,  and  the  functions  of  the  office  devolved  upon 
Stanton ;  and  any  person  thereafter  attempting  to  prevent 
his  exercise  of  them  incurred  the  penalties  of  fine  and  im 
prisonment  imposed  by  the  law. 

Subsequent  events  have  proved  that  Johnson,  in  the  sus 
pension  of  Stanton,  intended  to  keep  him  out  of  the  War 
Office  permanently,  in  spite  of  the  law  and  of  the  Senate,  and 
to  obtain  the  control  of  the  Department  for  ulterior  objects. 
His  purpose  was  fixed.  His  mode  of  accomplishing  it  was 
sinister.  He  sought  his  ends  by  hypocrisy  and  double-deal 
ing.  Pretending  to  yield  to  the  requirements  of  the  act,  he 
practically  disregarded  it.  Professing  to  respect  the  author 
ity  of  the  Senate,  he  meant  to  defy  it. 

Though  one  of  the  agencies  through  which  he  hoped  to 
attain  his  ends  was  the  temporary  installment  of  Grant  in 
Stanton's  place,  he  never  dreamed,  confident  and  presuming 
as  he  is,  that  he  could  secure  his  aid  in  an  illegal  seizure 
of  the  Department.  Pie  only  aimed  to  keep  him  there  till 
his  plans  were  matured  for  thrusting  some  pliant  tool  into  the 
office.  So  long  as  Grant  remained,  one  point  was  gained — 
Stantoi?  was  out.  If,  under  some  plausible  pretext,  he  could 
induce  him  to  stay  after  the  Senate  had  acted  adversely,  he 
could  gain  the  next  point  by  carrying  on  his  contest  with  the 
Senate  under  the  shadow  of  his  popular  and  powerful  name. 

Up  to  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  Grant,  wholly  ab 
sorbed  in  his  multifarious  duties,  had  not  detected  his  devious 
designs.  Grant  probably  believed  the  Senate  would  regard 


390  LIFE   OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

the  Tenure  Act  as  valid.  Whether  they  would  refuse  to  con 
cur  in  the  reasons  for  Stanton's  suspension  was  not  so  certain. 
On  Thursday,  the  9th  of  January,  Grant  had  an  interview 
on  this  general  subject  with  Johnson.  He  had  not  then 
critically  examined  this  act;  for,  being  constantly  engaged 
in  studying  laws  with  whose  execution  he  was  specially 
charged,  he  had  no  leisure  to  examine  those  with  whose  exe 
cution  he  had  nothing  to  do.  So  in  this  interview  he  did  not 
combat  but  rather  assented  to  the  President's  interpretation, 
to  the  effect  that  he  might  legally  retain  the  War  Office, 
even  if  the  Senate  should  fail  to  concur  in  the  reasons  for 
Stanton's  suspension,  and  thus  send  him  to  the  courts  for 
redress ;  but  he  told  the  President  he  would  examine  the  law 
and  inform  him  if  he  changed  his  views. 

On  Saturday,  the  llth  of  January,  having  in  the  mean 
time  carefully  read  the  law,  he  again  met  Johnson,  and  then 
distinctly  informed  him  that,  according  to  its  provisions,  if 
the  Senate  refused  to  concur  in  the  suspension,  Stanton's  right 
to  resume  the  office  was  fixed,  and  his  own  powers  ceased ; 
and  in  the  event  of  the  Senate's  so  deciding,  he  should 
retire.  What  did  Johnson  do?  Grant  had  fulfilled  his 
promise  by  notifying  him  of  his  views  and  intentions.  John 
son  then  had  the  matter  in  his  own  hands.  If  he  wished  for 
a  conspirator  in  the  War  Department,  who  would  defy  the 
Senate,  resist  the  law,  and  drive  Stanton  to  the  courts,  he 
could  have  removed  Grant  and  installed  a  servitor  in  his 
place.  But,  as  is  the  wont  of  a  man  offensively  self-confident 
and  prone  to  contention,  instead  of  accepting  the  circum 
stances,  he  undertook  to  combat  Grant's  construction  of  the 
law,  even  generously  offering,  in  case  he  was  mistaken,  to  go 
to  jail  in  Grant's  stead  if  he  would  only  set  the  law  at  defi 
ance  !  After  much  argument  by  the  President  in  favor  of 
his  interpretation  of  the  act,  they  separated  with  some  vague 
idea  of  meeting  again  on  Monday. 

Mr.  Johnson  subsequently  asserted,  that  on  this  occasion, 
Grant  promised  that  he  would  either  resign  the  War  Office 
or  remain  and  resist  the  reinstatement  of  Stanton.  This 


LIFE   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT.  391 

statement  Grant  explicitly,  and  under  his  own  hand,  denied. 
In  his  letter  to  Johnson,  of  January  28th,  he  says :  "  I  made 
no  such  promise."  And  here  the  question  of  veracity  be 
tween  them  arises. 

On  such  an  issue  the  unprejudiced  public  will  take,  and 
have  taken,  but  one  side.  According  to  the  experience  of 
hundreds  of  his  fellow-citizens,  Johnson  is  a  frequent  violator 
of  his  plighted  word.  He  calls  these  verbal  infelicities  "  mis 
understandings."  Using  plainer  language,  the  people  call 
them  falsehoods.  The  probabilities  of  the  case  are  all  in 
favor  of  Grant  and  against  Johnson.  Grant  has  ever  been 
scrupulously  obedient  to  law.  He  is  the  soul  of  honor,  and 
never  forfeits  his  word.  He  had  protested  earnestly  against 
the  suspension  of  Stanton,  and  had  shown  extreme  reluctance 
to  take  the  War  Department.  Is  it  to  be  credited  for  a 
moment  that  he  would  deliberately  violate  the  Tenure  Act, 
incur  its  penalties,  defy  the  Senate,  become  the  subject  of  a 
wrangle  in  the  courts,  and  cover  himself  with  disgrace,  solely 
to  keep  Stanton  out  of  an  office  which  belonged  to  him,  and 
retain  possession  of  a  place  which  he  was  reluctant  to  hold  ? 

To  the  point  in  controversy  the  President  cited  witnesses ; 
not  however  be  it  noted,  as  to  what  was  said  at  the  interview 
between  him  and  Grant  on  Saturday,  when,  as  Johnson  had 
asserted,  this  promise  was  made ;  but,  as  to  certain  alleged 
conversations  at  a  Cabinet  meeting  on  the  following  Tuesday, 
in  regard  to  what  had  been  said  by  Grant  on  Saturday — a 
very  important  distinction  in  respect  to  the  subject-matter 
inquired  into ;  while  the  testimony  (it  may  be  remarked  in 
passing,)  is  of  a  species  which  courts  of  Justice  and  the 
general  experience  of  mankind,  have  always  viewed  with 
great  distrust  and  suspicion,  so  liable  are  such  conversations 
to  be  misunderstood  or  misrecollected,  or  misinterpreted,  or 
misrepresented. 

The  place  where  these  conversations  of  Tuesday  occurred, 
was  in  a  Cabinet  council  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  Why 
was  Grant  invited  thither?  He  was  not  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet  as  the  President  well  knew,  for  he  had  informed  him 


892  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

that,  in  consequence  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Senate  on 
Monday,  he  had  withdrawn  from  the  War  Department. 
Was  he  invited  into  the  presence  of  Johnson  and  his  coun 
sellors  and  allies,  that  they  might  "entangle  him  in  his  talk?" 
And  these  counsellors  and  allies  —  we  will  not  call  them 
co-conspirators — are  the  witnesses  whom  he  summoned  to 
sustain  his  version  of  what  was  said  by  Grant  at  this  pre 
arranged  Cabinet  council. 

When  these  witnesses  were  called  to  testify,  the  President's 
case  was  involved  in  this  dilemma.  Without  consultation 
with  the  more  moderate  members  of  the  Cabinet,  Johnson 
had  ostentatiously  proclaimed  to  the  country,  through  certain 
journals,  not  only  this  alleged  promise  of  Grant,  but  also  his 
version  of  the  conversations  in  the  Cabinet  meeting,  insisting 
that  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  concurred  with  him  in 
regard  to  what  had  taken  place  in  their  presence ;  and  these 
statements  were  made  in  language  very  bitter  and  offensive 
towards  Grant.  When  Grant,  by  his  denial,  raised  the  issue 
of  veracity,  Johnson  imperiously  demanded  the  support  of 
his  Cabinet,  whom  he  had  already  committed  to  his  side  of 
the  controversy.  Their  position  wras  embarrassing ;  but  hes 
itation  was  ruin.  For  his  counsellors  to  have  gone  back  on 
him  then,  would  have  provoked  his  ire  and  ruptured  his  Cab 
inet  ;  and  the  House  of  Representatives  which  they  had  with 
much  difficulty  kept  at  bay  for  many  months,  would  have 
entered  the  breach  with  articles  of  impeachment  against  the 
President.  Therefore,  to  save  their  Chief,  upon  whom  their 
official  existence  depended,  and  who  would  have  sacrificed 
them  on  the  instant  had  they  faltered,  it  behoved  them  to 
sustain  him  with  the  best  endorsement  which  their  slender 
materials  afforded. 

And  what  does  their  testimony,  given  under  these  circum 
stances,  amount  to  ?  Messrs.  Welles,  Randall  and  McCulloch 
merely  echo  the  President's  statements,  to  which  he  had  pre 
viously  committed  himself  and  them  before  the  country.  By 
refraining  from  all  details  of  the  conversations  of  Tuesday,- 
and  by  merely  giving  the  President  "  an  endorsement  in 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

blank,"  they  consign  themselves  to  that  class  which  the 
courts  call "  willing  witnesses,"  whose  testimony  is  contempt 
uously  dismissed  as  not  entitled  to  the  weight  of  a  feather. 

Mr.  Browning,  while  evidently  anxious  to  support  the 
President,  goes  into  detail ;  and  he  effectually  disposes  of 
the  case  on  the  only  material  issue  involved.  General  Grant, 
in  his  letter  to  the  President  of  January  28th,  had  denied 
giving  a  promise  to  resign  if  he  concluded  not  to  resist  the 
reinstatement  of  Mr.  Stanton.  Mr.  Browning,  in  reciting 
what  Grant  said  at  the  Cabinet  meeting  on  Tuesday,  says, 
Grant  on  that  occasion  stated,  that  on  examining  the  Tenure 
Act  "  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  if  the  Senate  should 
refuse  to  concur  in  the  suspension,  Mr.  Stanton  would  thereby 
be  reinstated,  and  that  he,  Grant,  could  not  continue  there 
after  to  act  as  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim  without  subject 
ing  himself  to  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  that  he  came  over 
on  Saturday  to  inform  the  President  of  this  change  in  his 
views,  and  did  so  inform  him."  This  contradicts  the  Presi 
dent's  assertions,  verifies  the  statements  of  Grant,  and  settles 
the  question  of  veracity  in  his  favor. 

Mr.  Seward  does  not  essentially  alter  this  view  of  the 
matter,  though  he,  as  also  Mr.  Browning,  leaves  it  barely 
possible  that  Mr.  Johnson  may  have  inferred  that  the  discus 
sion  of  Saturday  was  postponed  to  a  contemplated  interview 
on  Monday.  But  General  Grant  did  not  so  understand  it. 
He  had  done  his  errand ;  he  had  redeemed  his  pledge  ;  he 
had  notified  the  President  of  his  change  of  views,  and  of  his 
fixed  intentions,  and  he  retired  from  the  interview,  leaving  the 
President  to  pursue  his  own  course.  If  the  latter  cherished 
the  hope  that  by  a  subsequent  interview,  he  could  bend  his 
inflexible  opponent  to  his  wishes,  and  induce  him  to  change 
his  determination  cr  postpone  its  execution,  the  unexpectedly 
prompt  action  of  the  Senate  afforded  him  no  opportunity  to 
ply  his  arts  in  that  direction.  He  was  caught  in  the  snare 
he  had  spread  for  another,  and  he  emerged  from  the  contro 
versy  a  baffled  conspirator. 

Mr.  Johnson  has  contended  that  his  sole  object  in  these 


:V.U  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

strange  proceedings,  was  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  the 
Tenure  of  Office  Act.  This  is  an  afterthought,  suggested  by 
the  exigencies  of  his  impeachment.  The  inference  from  all 
the  facts  then  existing  and  those  which  have  subsequently 
transpired,  is  irresistible,  that  his  purpose  was  to  get  and 
keep  possession  of  the  War  Department.  Assume,  however, 
that  his  object  was  as  he  alleges.  Has  the  President,  any 
more  than  the  humblest  citizen,  the  right  to  violate  a  law  in 
order  thereby  to  test  its  constitutionality?'  While  this  would 
be  reprehensible  in  a  private  individual,  and  subject  him  to 
pains  and  penalties,  such  conduct  in  the  President  would  be 
a  far  higher  crime,  tending  by  its  evil  example  upon  inferior 
officials  to  whelm  the  country  in  anarchy.  Like  all  his  fel 
low-citizens,  Mr.  Johnson  was  bound  to  obey  the  laws,  while 
as  President  he  rested  under  far  weightier  obligations.  He 
was  the  Chief  Executive  Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  whose 
sworn  Constitutional  duty  it  was  to  "  take  care  that  the  laws 
be  faithfully  executed ; "  and  upon  no  pretext,  and  for  no 
ulterior  objects,  and  in  pursuance  of  no  advice,  and  under  no 
preconceived  motives  as  to  their  validity,  could  he  refuse  to 
execute  and  obey  any  laws  which  imposed  duties  upon  him. 

But,  concede  that  his  object  was  to  test  the  constitutional 
ity  of  the  Tenure  Act.  "Why  did  he  fix  his  eye  exclusively 
and  persistently  upon  the  War  Department  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  this  issue  ?  With  swarms  of  minor  officers  and 
retainers  all  over  the  land,  ready  to  do  his  bidding,  a  score 
of  cases  involving  this  question  could  have  been  made  up 
and  the  issue  sent  to  the  courts  for  a  decision  within  a  week 
after  his  wishes  were  made  known.  Why  then  aim  at 
the  War  Office  ?  His  subsequent  appointment  of  General 
Thomas  to  this  post,  and  the  events  that  attended  and  fol 
lowed  it,  afford  an  answer  to  the  question. 

Mr.  Johnson,  for  ulterior  purposes,  desired  to  get  the 
absolute  control  of  this  Department.  Through  it  perhaps 
he  imagined  he  could  suspend  or  supersede  Grant  as  Gen 
eral-in-Chief,  manage  the  army,  defy  the  Senate,  overawe 
the  House,  prostrate  the  Congressional  plan  of  reconstruc- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  395 

tion,  control  the  elections  in  the  five  military  districts,  bring 
to  the  Capital  from  the  Southern  States,  Senators  and  liepre- 
sentatives  who  would,  through  his  aid,  either  force  their  way 
into  Congress,  or  by  uniting  with  the  minority  of  the  two 
Houses,  create  a  legislative  body  with  which  he  could  co 
operate  ;  and  thus,  by  a  startling  display  of  power,  he  would 
make  a  bold  stroke  for  his  own  election  as  President. 

The  ungenerous  and  unfair  treatment  which  General  Grant 
received  from  the  President  and  his  coadjutors  during  this 
controversy,  would  have  aroused,  in  a  mind  less  patriotic  and 
more  liable  to  be  swayed  by  passion  and  revenge  than  his, 
intense  bitterness  towards  his  foes,  which  would  have  awaited 
its  opportunity  for  inflicting  upon  them  summary  retribution. 
Such  an  opportunity  soon  occurred  when  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  adopted  articles  of  impeachment  against  Johnson, 
and  the  Senate  entered  upon  his  trial.  But  throughout  these 
proceedings,  Grant  pursued  the  same  wise  course  that  had 
marked  his  conduct  during  the  entire  period  of  the  collision 
between  the  President  and  Congress. 

Prudently  resolving  to  leave  those  upon  whom  the  Constitu 
tion  had  devolved  the  responsibility  of  initiating  and  deter 
mining  this  complicated  case,  to  discharge  their  several  duties, 
he  attended  to  the  performance  of  the  manifold  trusts  com 
mitted  to  his  keeping  as  General-in-Chief.  Continuing  to 
enforce  retrenchment  and  reform  in  all  branches  of  the  service, 
he  devoted  himself  with  untiring  energy  to  the  completion  of 
the  plan  of  reconstruction.  The  fruits  of  his  labors  in  this 
field  were  early  seen  in  the  adoption  of  Constitutions,  and 
the  election  of  State  Officers  and  members  of  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  in  a  large  majority  of  the  ten  Southern  States, 
leaving  it  no  longer  doubtful  that,  under  the  vigorous  and 
conciliatory  policy  and  measures  of  Grant  and  his  faithful 
coadjutors,  all  the  lately  rebellious  States  may  be  prepared 
to  crown  the  work  of  restoration  by  participating,  in  com 
mon  with  the  rest  of  the  Union,  in  the  next  Presidential 
election. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  18G8,  a  National  Convention  of  sol- 


396  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT. 

diers  and  sailors  met  at  Chicago,  and  nominated  General 
Grant  for  the  Presidency.  It  was  composed  of  officers  and 
men  who  had  borne  a  part  in  the  great  contest  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Republic.  Numerous  representatives  were  in 
attendance  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  greeted  the 
name  of  Grant  with  intense  enthusiasm.  Two  days  after 
wards,  the  National  Convention,  of  the  Republican  party, 
also  sitting  in  Chicago,  presented  him  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency.  As  in  the  previous  Convention,  so  in  this,  he 
was  nominated  by  acclamation,  and  amid  the  most  hearty 
applause. 

The  presentation  of  Grant  as  the  nominee  of  the  soldiers 
and  sailors,  was  natural  and  appropriate.  In  installing  him 
as  their  Chief  in  the  pending  political  campaign,  his  com 
panions  in  arms  only  renewed  and  revived  a  leadership  which 
they  had  followed  through  the  perils  of  the  war,  and  which 
had  conducted  them  to  victory  and  the  country  to  peace. 
His  nomination  by  the  Republican  Convention,  was  only  the 
recognition  and  ratification  of  an  existing  fact.  He  had  pre 
viously  been  placed  before  the  nation,  as  a  candidate  by 
numerous  organizations,  in  various  sections  of  the  Union, 
composed  of  men  of  all  parties.  Though  doubtless  concur 
ring  in  sentiment  with  the  leading  principles  of  the  Republi 
can  party,  he  had  never  been  a  member  of  it,  nor  voted  its 
ticket,  and,  so  far  as  he  was  a  politician  at  all,  he  was  known 
as  a  War  Democrat.  Large  numbers  of  the  Soldiers'  and 
Sailors'  Convention  were  prominent  Democrats,  while  many 
of  the  most  conspicious  members  of  the  Republican  Conven 
tion  had  been  distinguished  as  leaders  in  the  Democratic 
party.  They  united  with  the  Republicans  in  presenting  the 
name  of  Grant  to  the  country,  not  because  they  had  ceased  to 
be  Democrats,  but  because  they  believed  him  to  be  the  best 
and  safest  man  with  whom  to  entrust  its  destiny  in  the  pend 
ing  emergency,  and  to  secure  this  end  they  naturally  coa 
lesced  with  the  largest  body  of  his  supporters  to  carry  out 
their  common  object. 

His   nomination   at  Chicago,  by   these  two    Conventions, 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  397 

under  these  circumstances  and  surrounded  and  supported  by 
such  adjuncts,  did  not  require  that  he  should  vacate  the  posi 
tion  of  political  independence  which  he  had  always  occupied ; 
and  though  Kepublicans  will  support  him  with  fidelity  and 
enthusiasm,  he  will  still  be  regarded  as  the  candidate  of 
other  organizations  as  well  as  theirs,  and  will  be  sustained 
by  a  large  and  influential  body  of  those  who  are  distinct 
ively  known  as  War  Democrats,  while  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  should  he  be  elevated  to  Chief  Magistracy  in  Novem 
ber  next,  will  not  entertain  the  slightest  fear  that  the  Union 
and  the  Constitution  will  suffer  detriment  at  his  hands. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

POPULAR  MISCONCEPTION  OF  GRANT'S  CHARACTER  AND  ABILITIES  — 
HIS  PECULIARITIES  AND  VIRTUES — HIS  PHYSICAL  AND  MENTAL 
ENDURANCE — PERSONAL  HABITS  AND  APPEARANCE  —  HIS  LIBER 
ALITY — HIS  STRICT  REGARD  FOR  TRUTH — GRANT  AS  A  SOLDIER — 
HIS  COURAGE  AND  RESOLUTION — AS  AN  ORGANIZER— COMPARISON 
BETWEEN  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ARMIES  OF  THE  WEST  AND 
EAST — CONFIDENCE  IN  THE  PATRIOTISM  AND  INTELLIGENCE  OF  HIS 
SOLDIERS  AND  IN  THE  ULTIMATE  SUCCESS  OF  THE  WAR — HIS 
ESTIMATION  OF  CHARACTER  IN  THE  SELECTION  OF  HIS  SUBORDI 
NATES — HIS  CHARACTER  FOR  GENERALSHIP  AS  JUDGED  BY  NAPO- 
LEON'S  AND  MARSHALL  MARMONT's  RULES. 

IN  following  General  Grant  through  the  incidents  of  his 
eventful  life,  it  has  been  impossible  to  dwell  upon  his  personal 
peculiarities,  or  to  delineate  his  qualities  as  a  leader  in  that 
bold  relief  which  may  be  necessary  to  illustrate  the  man  as 
he  is.  Notwithstanding  the  long  array  of  admirable  per 
formances  that  have  marked  his  career,  there  is  scarcely  any 
character  in  history  in  reference  to  whose  real  merit  so  much 
doubt  has  existed.  The  reasons  for  this  are  somewhat  com 
plex,  but  are  sufficiently  indicated  by  a  reference  to  the 
remarkable  reticence  of  the  man  and  his  utter  abhorrence  of 
the  arts  of  the  demagogue  in  whatever  shape.  He  has  stu 
diously  avoided  sounding  the  trumpet  of  his  own  fame,  either 
in  public  or  in  private,  and  has  been  so  persistently  generous 
in  awarding  praise  to  others,  that  the  world  has  really  heard 
more  of  his  subordinates  than  of  himself.  Then,  too,  in  the 
very  outset  of  his  career  as  a  soldier  during  the  war  of  the 
rebellion,  he  was  denounced  before  the  country  as  being 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  899 

intemperate  as  well  as  incompetent.*  His  brilliant  and 
entirely  successful  movement  against  Belmont,  was  studi 
ously  reported,  even  by  those  who  knew  better,  as  a  disas 
trous  failure ;  his  splendid  campaign  of  Fort  Donelson  in 
mid-winter,  resulting  in  the  capture  of  an  entire  army  and  in 
the  infliction  of  the  first  staggering  blow  upon  the  rebellion, 
was  so  marvelous  and  incomprehensible  to  the  people  at 
large,  but  so  persistently  misrepresented,  that  many  excellent 
persons  came  to  believe  that  Grant  had  retarded  that  victory 

*  The  following  letter,  from  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted,  will  serve  to  show 
the  origin  of  such  reports  : 

THE  GENESIS  OF  A  RUMOR. —  To  the  Editor  of  the  Nation:  One  day  in 
the  spring  of  1863,  Mr.  Frederick  Knapp  and  myself  were  guests  of 
General  Grant,  at  his  head-quarters,  on  a  steamboat  lying  at  Milliken's 
Bend,  a  few  miles  above  Vicksburg.  A  curtain  had  been  hung  in  such 
a  way  as  to  give  a  certain  degree  of  seclusion  to  the  after-part  of  the 
main  cabin,  and  when  we  rose  from  dinner  we  were  asked  to  sit  with 
the  General  behind  the  screen,  where  there  was  a  writing  table  with  a 
pitcher  and  glasses.  The  General  then  told  us  that  he  had  a  few  hours 
before  received  unfavorable  intelligence  from  General  Sherman's  expe 
dition  up  the  Sunflower.  Inviting  our  enquiries,  and  replying  to  all 
we  thought  it  proper  to  make,  with  an  unexpectedly  generous  freedom 
and  painstaking  thoroughness  of  explanation,  he  was  gradually  led  into 
a  comprehensive  review  of  the  existing  conditions  of  his  campaign, 
which  it  was  easy  to  see  were  of  the  very  gravest  character.  We  were 
impressed  as  much  by  the  remarkably  methodical  clearness  of  the  nar 
ration  as  by  the  simple  candor  and  ingenuousness  with  which  it  was 
given  to  us  who,  the  day  before,  had  been  strangers  to  him.  He  took 
up  several  hypotheses  and  suggestions,  and  analyzed  them  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  prominent  the  uncertainties  and  uncontrollable  ele 
ments  which  were  involved  in  them,  and  I  could  not  but  think,  so 
musing  and  quietly  reflective  was  his  manner,  and  yet  so  exact  and 
well-arranged  his  expressions,  that  he  was  simply  repeating  a  process 
of  "  thinking  it  out,"  in  order  to  assure  himself  that  he  fully  compre 
hended  and  gave  just  weight  to  all  the  important  elements  of  some 
grand  military  problem,  the  solution  of  which  he  was  about  to  under 
take. 

(The  last  attempt  to  attack  Vicksburg  on  the  north  ended  that  day, 
and  a  few  hours  after  our  interview  the  first  step  was  taken  looking 
toward  the  approach  from  the  south ;  but  of  this  no  hint  was  given  us, 
and  we  only  heard  of  it  the  next  morning.) 


400  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

instead  of  having  organized  and  achieved  it  by  his  own  in 
cisive  judgment  and  indomitable  courage.  His  arrest  and 
confinement  at  Fort  Henry  was  looked  upon  as  a  legitimate 
punishment  for  misbehavior.  The  bloody  battle  of  Shiloh, 
followed  by  Halleck's  disgraceful  siege  at  Corinth,  convinced 
the  public  that  Grant  must  be  entirely  incompetent ;  and  it 
was  not  till  after  Vicksburg  that  the  real  truth  began  to  be 
suspected.  First  it  was  McClernand  who  had  "furnished 
him  with  brains;"  then  it  was  C.  F.  Smith  who  had  led  his 
army  to  victory  ;  then  it  was  Halleck ;  and  finally  Sherman 
and  McPherson  to  whom  all  praise  was  due.  It  was  not  till 

All  at  once  he  stopped  short,  and,  with  an  expression  of  surprise  if 
not  of  distress,  put  his  cigar  away,  rose,  and  moved  his  chair  aside.  A 
moment  before  we  could  not  have  imagined  that  there  was  a  woman 
within  many  miles  of  us ;  but,  turning  my  eyes,  I  saw  one  who  had  just 
parted  the  screen,  comely,  well-dressed,  and  with  the  air  and  manner 
of  a  gentlewoman.  She  had  just  arrived  by  a  steamboat  from  Mem 
phis,  and  came  to  present  General  Grant  with  a  memorial  or  petition. 
In  a  few  words  she  made  known  her  purpose,  and  offered  to  give  in 
detail  certain  facts,  of  which  she  stated  that  she  was  cognizant,  bearing 
upon  her  object.  The  General  stood  listening  to  he*  in  an  attitude  of 
the  most  deferential  attention,  his  hand  still  upon  his  chair,  which  was 
half  in  front  of  him  as  he  had  turned  to  face  her,  and  slightly  nodding 
his  head  as  an  expression  of  assent  at  almost  every  sentence  she 
uttered.  When  she  had  completed  her  statement,  he  said,  speaking 
very  low,  and  with  an  appearance  of  reluctance :  "  I  shall  be  compelled  to 
consult  my  medical  director,  and  to  obtain  a  report  from  him  before  I  can 
meet  your  wishes.  If  agreeable  to  you,  I  will  ask  him  to  call  upon  you 
to-morrow  ;  shall  I  say  at  eleven  o'clock  ?"  The  lady  bowed  and  with 
drew  ;  the  General  took  a  long  breath,  resumed  his  cigar  and  his  seat, 
said  that  he  was  inclined  to  think  her  proposition  a  reasonable  and 
humane  one,  and  then  went  on  with  the  interrupted  review. 

A  week  or  two  after  this,  having  gone  up  the  river,  Mr.  Knapp  met 
this  lady  at  a  hotel,  when,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation,  she  referred 
with  much  sadness  to  the  deplorable  habits  of  General  Grant,  and  the 
hopelessness  of  success  while  our  army  was  commanded  by  a  man  so 
unfit  to  be  charged  with  any  grave  responsibility.  Mr.  Knapp  replied 
that  he  had  the  best  reason  for  stating  that  the  reports  to  which  she 
referred  were  without  foundation,  and  proceeded  to  give  her  certain 
exact  information  of  which  he  happened  to  be  possessed,  which,  as  far  as 
possible,  refuted  them.  "  Unfortunately,"  said  the  lady,  "  I  have  cer- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    8.  GRANT.  401 

Vicksburg  was  followed  by  Chattanooga  that  the  world  came 
to  look  upon  Grant  as  possessing  any  merits  of  his  own. 
It  is  a  safe  rule  to  judge  men  by  the  results  of  a  life-time, 
but  an  unsafe  one,  particularly  in  reference  to  military  men, 
to  judge  from  past  reputation  or  isolated  actions.  In  this 
day  of  skepticism  there  are  but  few  people  who  believe  en 
tirely  in  ability,  honor,  vigor  and  manly  virtue  as  the  sure 
means  of  making  life  successful.  And  fewer  still  who  are 
able  to  separate  from  their  estimate  of  successful  characters 
the  idea  that  chance  or  fate  may  not  have  had  as  much  to 
do  with  achievements  of  high  distinction  as  real  worth  and 
ability.  A  very  large  number  of  intelligent  persons  will 

tain  knowledge  that  they  are  but  too  true."  She  then  described  her 
recent  interview  with  General  Grant,  and  it  appeared  that,  from  her 
point  of  view,  the  General  was  engaged  in  a  carouse  with  one  or  two 
boon  companions  when  she  came  unexpectedly  upon  him  ;  that  he  rose 
to  his  feet  with  difficulty,  could  not  stand  without  staggering,  and  was 
obliged  to  support  himself  with  a  chair ;  that  he  was  evidently  con 
scious  that  he  was  in  an  unfit  condition  to  attend  to  business,  and 
wanted  to  put  her  off  till  the  next  day ;  that  his  voice  was  thick,  he 
spoke  incoherently,  and  she  was  so  much  shocked  that  she  was  obliged 
to  withdraw  almost  immediately.  The  next  day,  being  ashamed  to  see 
her  himself,  he  sent  his  doctor  to  find  out  what  she  wanted. 

Mr.  Knapp  then  told  her  that,  having  been  one  of  the  boon  com 
panions  whom  she  had  observed  with  the  General  on  that  occasion, 
and  that  having  dined  with  him  and  been  face  to  face  with  him  for  fully 
three  hours,  he  not  only  knew  that  he  was  under  the  influence  of  no 
drink  stronger  than  the  unqualified  mud  of  the  Mississippi,  but  he 
could  assure  her  that  he  had  never  seen  a  man  who  appeared  to  him 
more  thoroughly  sober  and  clear-headed  than  General  Grant  at  the- 
moment  of  her  entrance. 

Notwithstanding  his  assurances,  the  lady  repeated  that  she  could  not 
doubt  the  evidence  of  her  own  senses,  and  I  suppose  that  to  this  day 
Mr.  Knapp  and  myself  rank,  equally  with  General  Grant,  in  her  mind' 
as  confirmed  drunkards. 

This  experience  is  by  no  means  a  unique  one,  and  the  zealous  devo 
tion  with  which  I  have  often  heard  both  men  and  women  undermining 
the  character  of  others  for  temperance  on  equally  slight  grounds,  has 
often  led  me  to  question  if  there  are  not  vices  in  our  society  more 
destructive  to  sound  judgment  and  honest  courses  than  that  of  habitual 
overdrinking  Yours  respectfully,  FRED.  LAW  OLMSTED. 

26 


402  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

doubtless  be  found  to  claim  that  no  man  is  or  can  be  exclu 
sively  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  and  that  without  the 
favoring  circumstances  of  life,  in  the  shape  of  that  mysterious 
and  indefinable  agency  compounded  of  time,  place  and  oppor 
tunity,  no  amount  of  talents  or  energy  or  good  management 
will  secure  true  renown. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  discuss  the  doctrine  of  chances, 
nor  to  say  which  of  the  foregoing  propositions  affords  the 
best  rule  by  which  to  measure  the  deserts  of  public  charac 
ters.  There  is  doubtless  some  middle  ground  which  is  nearer 
the  truth  in  most  instances,  but  in  war,  if  in  no  other  human 
pursuit,  success  must  be  made  the  sole  criterion  of  merit. 
To  assume  a  different  principle  or  to  base  opinions  upon  the 
idea  that  we  may  have  formed  of  the  mental  parts  or  culture 
of  a  General,  is  to  enter  upon  fallacious  and  uncertain 
ground. 

"  If  we  sometimes  deceive  ourselves,"  (says  Marshall  Mar- 
mont,  in  the  "  Spirit  of  Military  Institutions,")  "  in  judging 
by  facts,  we  should  deceive  ourselves  much  more  in  directing 
ourselves  solely  by  personal  knowledge  of  individuals.  For 
tune  may  once  or  twice  overwhelm  with  her  favors,  a  man 
who  is  not  worthy  of  them  ;  she  may  betray  the  finest  com 
binations  of  genius,  and  humble  a  noble  character  ;  but  when 
the  struggle  is  prolonged,  when  events  are  multiplied,  the 
man  of  true  talents  infallibly  conquers  her  favors ;  and  if  con 
tinual  reverses  occur,  we  may  boldly  conclude,  that  in  spite 
of  a  superior  mind  and  qualities,  which  have  dazzled  us,  a 
lack  of  harmony  and  adaptation  in  these  faculties,  destroys 
their  power."  Before  making  an  application  of  these  princi 
ples  to  Grant's  character  as  a  General,  let  us  consider  him  as 
a  man. 

His  special  peculiarities  as  a  boy,  his  modesty,  honor, 
and  steady  self-confidence,  have  been  set  forth  at  con 
siderable  length,  and  some  estimate  has  been  given  of  his 
characteristics  as  a  soldier,  at  various  epochs  of  his  life ;  but 
no  full  and  ample  description  of  the  man  and  his  habits  has 
yet  been  ventured  upon. 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  403 

He  is  somewhat  under  the  medium  size,  though  his  body 
is  closely  and  powerfully  built.  His  feet  and  hands  are  small 
and  neatly  shaped ;  his  dress  is  plain,  and  exceedingly  unos 
tentatious  ;  his  eyes  are  large,  deep,  leonine  and  very  strong, 
equally  capable  of  blazing  with  a  resolution  that  nothing  can 
withstand,  and  of  shining  with  the  steady  light  of  benevolence 
and  amiability.  His  fibre  is  like  that  of  steel  wire,  elastic, 
close-grained,  and  enduring;  his  temperament  is  admirably 
compounded  of  the  sanguine,  nervous  and  lymphatic,  but  the 
last  is  in  such  proportion  as  to  tone  down  and  hold  in  equilib 
rium  the  other  two,  perfecting  both  mental  and  physical  or 
ganization.  His  capacity  for  labor  surpasses  comprehension ; 
neither  mental  nor  physical  exertion  seems  to  produce  the 
least  wear  and  tear  in  his  case.  Pie  rides  at  a  dashing  speed 
hour  after  hour  and  day  after  day  writh  the  same  ease  with 
which  he  plans  a  battle  or  issues  the  instructions  for  a  cam 
paign.  There  is  no  noise  or  clash  or  clangor  in  the  man  ;  his 
voice  is  as  quiet  and  orderly  as  a  woman's,  and  his  language 
judiciously  and  tastefully  chosen.  He  was  never  heard  to  give 
utterance  to  a  rude  word  or  a  vulgar  jest ;  no  oath  or  fierce 
fiery  imprecation  has  ever  escaped  his  lips.  No  thundering 
order,  no  unfeeling  or  undignified  speech,  and  no  thought 
less  or  ill-natured  criticism  ever  fell  from  him.  When 
angry,  which  is  rarely  the  case,  or  at  least,  he  rarely  shows 
his  anger,  he  speaks  with  well-ordered  but  subdued  vehe 
mence,  displaying  his  passion  by  compressed  lips  and  an 
earnest  flash  of  the  eye.  But  it  must  be  said  of  him,  that 
of  all  men  he  is  the  slowest  to  anger.  He  has  been  heard  to 
say  that  even  under  the  severest  insult  he  never  became  in 
dignant  till  a  week  after  the  offense  has  been  given,  and  then 
only  at  himself  for  not  having  sooner  discovered  that  he  had 
been  insulted  or  misused.  This  arises  rather  from  an  un 
conscious  self-abnegation  than  from  any  incapacity  for  choler. 
It  is  precisely  this  quality  which  has  made  him  so  successful 
in  the  personal  questions  which  have  arisen  between  him  and 
his  subordinates.  They  have  usually  mistaken  his  slowness 
for  dullness  or  a  lack  of  spirit,  and  have  discovered  their 


404  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

mistake  only  after  becoming  rash  and  committing  a  fatal 
error.  Grant  is  as  unsuspicious  and  pure-hearted  as  a  child, 
and  as  free  from  harmful  intention  ;  but  he  is  stirred  to  the 
very  depths  of  his  nature  by  an  act  of  inhumanity  or  brutal 
ity  of  any  sort ;  while  meanness  or  ingratitude  or  uncharita- 
bleness  excites  him  to  the  display  of  the  liveliest  indignation. 
He  is  not  slow  in  the  exhibition  of  contempt  or  disgust  for 
whatever  is  unmanly  or  unbecoming. 

In  issuing  orders  to  his  subordinates  or  in  asking  a  service 
at  the  hands  of  a  staff-officer,  he  is  always  scrupulously  polite 
and  respectful  in  manner  ;  and  orders  or  requests  rather  as 
he  would  ask  a  friend  to  oblige  him  personally,  than  as  a 
military  commander  whose  word  is  law.  His  consideration 
for  those  about  him  is  admirably  shown  by  the  following 
incident:  On  the  night  after  the  battle  of  Mission  Ridge, 
while  returning  from  the  front  to  his  head-quarters  at  Chat 
tanooga,  he  desired  to  know  what  had  become  of  Sheridan's 
division,  which  had  been  reported  at  noon  as  engaged  in 
building  a  bridge  across  the  Chickamauga  at  Mission  Mills, 
and  although  it  was  then  after  midnight,  he  requested  one  of 
his  staff  to  obtain  the  desired  information.  The  officer,  after 
a  long  and  tiresome  ride,  reported  at  head-quarters  just  at 
sunrise,  and  found  the  General  not  yet  asleep.  It  seems  that 
in  returning  to  Chattanooga  at  about  one  o'clock,  he  found 
a  full  explanation  of  the  day's  operations,  and  instead  of 
going  to  sleep  he  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  in  thinking  of 
the  long  and  tedious  ride  he  had  required  from  his  officer,  all 
for  no  purpose,  as  he  expressed  it.  Such  solicitude  for  the 
comfort  of  others,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  rare  even  among 
the  most  humane  of  our  Generals.  Many  of  them  would  not 
have  hesitated  to  save  themselves  even  the  slightest  trouble 

rt 

at  the  expense  of  others  ;  and  not  a  few  would  have  given 
themselves  scarcely  a  moment's  thought  had  an  aid-de-camp 
been  killed,  much  less  if  he  had  only  gone  on  a  long  and 
difficult  ride  upon  a  wintry  night. 

Grant's  personal  habits  and  tastes  are  exceedingly  simple ; 
he  despises  the  pomp  and  show  of  empty  parade,  and  in  his 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  405 

severe  simplicity  and  manly  pride  he  scorns  all  adventitious 
aids  to  popularity.  lie  lives  plainly  himself  and  cannot  tol 
erate  ostentation  or  extravagance  in  those  about  him.  His 
mess  was  never  luxuriously,  though  always  bountifully,  fur 
nished  with  army  rations,  and  such  supplies  as  could  be 
transported  readily  and  easily  in  the  limited  number  of 
wagons  that  he  permitted  to  follow  his  head-quarters.  His 
appetites  are  all  under  perfect  control.  He  is  very  abstemi 
ous,  and  during  his  entire  Western  campaign  the  officers  of 
his  staff  were  forbidden  to  bring  wines  or  liquors  into  camp. 
He  has  been  represented  as  one  of  the  most  taciturn  of  men, 
and  in  one  respect  he  is  such.  He  never  divulges  his 
thoughts  till  they  are  matured,  and  never  aspires  to  speech- 
making;  and  even  in  private  conversation  he  falls  into  silence 
if  he  suspects  that  he  is  likely  to  be  reported.  He  is  the 
most  modest  of  men,  and  nothing  annoys  him  more  than  a 
loud  parade  of  personal  opinion,  or  personal  vanity ;  but  with 
his  intimate  friends,  either  at  home  or  around  the  camp-fire, 
he  talks  upon  all  subjects,  not  only  fluently  and  copiously, 
but  in  the  most  charming  and  good-natured  manner.  His 
life  has  been  too  busy  to  read  history  or  technical  works, 
but  he  has  always  been  a  close  and  careful  reader  of  the 
newspapers.  He  has  a  retentive  memory,  and  is  deeply 
interested  in  all  matters  which  concern  the  interests  of  hu 
manity,  and  particularly  his  own  country.  Upon  all  such 
subjects,  in  fact,  upon  all  the  vital  questions  of  the  day,  he 
thinks  carefully  and  profoundly,  and  expresses  himself  with 
great  ease  and  good  sense.  His  understanding  is  of  that 
incisive  character  that  soon  probes  a  question  to  the  bottom, 
no  matter  how  much  the  politicians  or  newspapers  may  labor 
to  confuse  it ;  while  his  judgment  is  so  deliberate,  honest  and 
truthful  in  its  operations  that  it  may  be  implicitly  relied  upon 
to  arrive  at  a  fair  and  unbiased  conclusion.  His  memory  is 
stored  with  personal  incidents  illustrative  of  men  and  man 
ners  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  showing  that  he  has  evidently 
been  a  profound  student  of  human  nature  throughout  life ; 
his  appreciation  of  men  and  character  has  never  been  eur- 


406  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

passed.  This  was  well  shown  in  the  reorganization  of  the 
army  after  he  became  Lieutenant- General.  It  is  well  known 
that  he  did  not  fail  in  a  single  instance  where  a  change  was 
made,  in  putting  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  This  was 
due  neither  to  chance  nor  snap  judgment,  but  to  his  habit  of 
careful  observation.  He  warms  towards  a  bold  outspoken  and 
loyal  nature  ;  full  of  ardor  and  zeal  himself,  he  naturally 
admires  these  qualities  in  others.  He  has  no  patience  with  a 
weak,  complaining  and  selfish  disposition,  and  cannot  endure 
double-dealing  or  indirectness  of  any  sort.  Straightforward 
and  frank  in  all  things  himself,  he  respects  these  qualities 
wherever  they  are  found.  Indeed  the  most  striking  pecul 
iarity  of  his  nature,  both  as  a  man  and  a  General,  is  a  pro 
found  and  undeviating  'truthfulness  in  all  things.  Those  who 
have  known  him  best  will  bear  a  willing  testimony  to  the 
statement  that  he  never  told  a  falsehood,  or  made  a  vol 
untary  misrepresentation  of  fact ;  and  will  believe  us  that  it 
would  be  almost  as  impossible  for  him  to  do  so  as  for  the 
needle  to  forget  its  fidelity  to  the  pole. 

He  is  a  true  friend  and  a  magnanimous  enemy.  His  liber 
ality  is  boundless,  and  his  charity  as  broad  as  humanity 
itself.  He  has  neither  vanity  nor  selfish  ambition ;  no  pro 
motion  has  ever  been  sought  by  him,  and  none  has  ever 
turned  his  head  or  changed  his  character  in  the  slightest 
degree.  Naturally  a  strong  believer  in  the  goodness  of 
Providence,  as  exerted  in  the  affairs  of  mankind,  he  yet 
possesses  none  of  that  blind  fatalism,  which  has  at  times, 
characterized  military  chieftains.  So  confident  was  he  in 
the  moral  strength  and  rectitude  of  our  cause,  and  the  supe 
rior  intelligence  and  endurance  of  the  Northern  people,  that 
he  never,  even  in  the  darkest  hour,  despaired  of  a  united  and 
prosperous  country.  In  this  respect  he  is  a  perfect  embodi 
ment  of  the  great  American  characteristic,  faith  in  the 
manifest  destiny  of  the  republic. 

"  We  rarely  find,"  said  Napoleon,  "  combined  in  the  same 
person  all  the  qualities  necessary  to  constitute  a  great  Gen 
eral.  The  most  desirable  is  that  a  man's  judgment  should  be 


LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  407 

in  equilibrium  with  his  courage ;  that  raises  him  at  once 
above  the  common  level.  If  courage  be  a  General's  predom 
inating  quality,  he  will  rashly  embark  in  enterprises  above 
his  conception ;  and  on  the  other  hand  he  will  not  venture  to 
carry  his  ideas  into  effect  if  his  character  or  courage  be  infe 
rior  to  his  judgment."  By  way  of  illustrating  this  principle 
Napoleon  went  on  to  assert  that  it  was  impossible  for  Murat 
and  Ney  not  to  be  brave,  but  added  that  "  no  men  ever  pos 
sessed  less  judgment."  Speaking  of  moral  courage,  he  said : 
"  I  have  very  rarely  met  the  two-o'clock-in-the-morning  cour 
age  ;  I  mean  unprepared  courage ;  that  which  is  necessary  on 
an  unexpected  occasion.  Kleber  was  endowed  with  the 
highest  talents,  but  was  merely  the  man  of  the  moment,  and 
pursued  glory  as  the  only  road  to  enjoyment,  while  Desaix 
possessed,  in  a  very  superior  degree,  the  important  equilib 
rium  just  described."  After  fully  considering  this  subject, 
and  discussing  the  merits  of  his  own  subordinates,  he  did  not 
scruple  to  say  that  he  was  himself  the  only  General  of  his 
time  who  fully  possessed  the  courage  ready  for  every  emer 
gency. 

"While  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  this  opinion  of  himself, 
was  not  unusually  partial  or  singular  at  that  time,  it  is  but 
just  to  add,  that  it  is  now  well  established  in  history,  that 
both  his  judgment  and  courage  were  at  fault  upon  more  than 
one  occasion.  Without  enlarging  here  upon  the  events  of 
his  remarkable  career,  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention 
to  the  attempted  conquest  of  Spain  and  Russia,  the  war  of 
1812-13  in  Germany,  the  campaign  of  1814  in  France,  and 
finally  the  campaign  of  Waterloo,  in  order  to  establish  suf 
ficiently  the  fact  that  the  necessary  equilibrium  did  not 
always  exist  in  Napoleon  between  the  conception  and  execu 
tion  of  his  plans. 

Marshall  Marmont  classifies  Generals  into  four  catego 
ries,  counting,  first  "  those  who  have  never  lost  a  battle, 
whose  courage  and  judgment  were  equal  to  every  emer 
gency,"  such  as  Alexander  and  Ca?sar  in  ancient  times, 
and  Gustavus  Adolphus,  Turenne,  Conde,  Luxembourg,  and 


408  LIFE    OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Xapoleon  until  1812,  in  modern  times.  In  the  second  class 
he  places  "  those  who,  if  they  have  often  gained  victories, 
have  sometimes  lost  them  "  in  spite  of  desperate  fighting  and 
good  Generalship.  Among  these  are  the  Archduke  Charles, 
Smvarow  and  Wellington.  The  third  category  contains 
"those  Generals  who  have  been  habitually  unfortunate  in 
war,  but  have  never  allowed  their  armies  to  be  destroyed, 
nor  been  personally  discouraged,  always  offering  a  mena 
cing  front  and  impressing  the  enemy  with  fear."  Such  in 
ancient  times,  were  Sertorius  and  Mithridates,  and  in 
modern  times  Wallenstein  and  William  III.  of  England. 
Finally,  the  fourth  category  contains  "  that  numerous  class, 
common  to  every  country  and  every  epoch,  who  have  lost 
their  armies  without  serious  fighting,  or  without  making  the 
enemy  pay  dearly  for  his  victory."  In  describing  the  qualities 
of  a  great  leader,  Marmont  speaks  of  a  union  of  intelligence 
and  courage,  but  prefers,  if  either  be  in  excess,  that  it  should 
be  courage,  for  reasons  which  are  obvious.  Another  writer 
declares  that  the  distinctive  characteristic  of  genius,  is  the 
apparent  ease  and  simplicity  with  which  it  accomplishes  the 
most  difficult  things.  Now  let  Grant  be  tried  by  these  rules, 
and  what  rank  must  be  assigned  to  him  in  history  ?  Where 
must  he  be  placed  ?  Clearly  in  the  highest  category  of  great 
soldiers ;  but  in  order  that  this  may  be  still  further  beyond 
the  pale  of  dispute,  let  us  consider  the  grounds  for  this  con 
clusion  somewhat  more  in  detail. 

Grant  having  been  educated  as  a  soldier,  at  West  Point, 
the  first  military  school  of  America,  if  not  of  the  world,  and 
having  served  under  both  Taylor  and  Scott,  had  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  received  all  the  training,  both 
theoretical  and  practical,  that  was  requisite  to  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  military  art,  as  applicable  to  warfare 
in  America.  In  the  very  outset  of  his  more  recent  career, 
he  showed  plainly  that  he  had  not  been  an  idle  or  unobserv 
ant  student  of  his  profession.  He  was,  from  conviction, 
always  opposed  to  that  spirit  of  martinetism  which  Frederick 
the  Great  succeeded  in  making  the  basis  of  military  discipline 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  409 

in  nearly  all  modern  armies ;  and  believed  in  developing  the 
individuality  of  the  soldier,  as  much  as  possible,  trusting  to 
his  intelligence  and  patriotism  for  a  full  performance  of  duty, 
instead  of  relying  exclusively  upon  the  capacity  of  officers  to 
control  brute  masses.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  that 
the  system  of  Frederick,  while  it  might  do  well  enough  for 
feudal  Europe,  before  the  days  of  the  revolution,  could  not 
be  made  to  apply  to  citizen  soldiery,  and  he  therefore  wasted 
no  time  in  trying  to  enforce  the  strict  rules  of  fixed  military 
establishments.  He  did  not  make  the  usual  mistake  of  sup 
posing  that  the  common  soldier  was  ignorant  and  thoughtless, 
and  therefore  to  be  considered  as  a  mere  machine  to  be  pro 
vided  with  a  musket  or  sabre,  and  then  to  be  harassed  into  a 
reluctant  performance  of  duty,  but  was  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  the  volunteers  were  intelligent  citizens  of 
the  republic,  whose  business  had  been  to  become  acquainted 
with  public  affairs.  Withal,  he  was  not  unmindful  of  the 
necessity  of  drill  and  organization,  for  the  purpose  of  ensur 
ing  coherence  and  uniformity  of  effort,  though  he  acted  upon 
the  reasonable  supposition,  that  volunteers  would  obtain  more 
of  the  practical  knowledge  of  warfare,  in  a  week's  campaign 
ing,  than  a  year's  drilling  in  camps  of  instruction.  He  has 
been  often  heard  to  say,  that  the  officer  who  could  not  tell 
that  his  movements  were  in  the  way  of  successful  execution, 
by  reading  the  faces  of  his  men,  was  already  defeated ;  he 
believes  that  American  soldiers  "  are  as  smart  as  town  folks," 
and  what  they  do  not  know,  or  cannot  find  out,  is  scarcely 
worth  the  knowing.  Looking  at  the  army  in  this  light,  he 
wisely  devoted  more  time  to  the  selection  of  good  officers,  and 
the  weeding  out  of  bad  ones,  than  in  working  from  the  men 
upwards. 

He  held  from  the  first  that  the  Government  in  conducting 
the  war  should  have  acted  upon  the  hereditary  policy  of  the 
nation,  and  disbanded  the  regular  army  entirely,  distributing 
its  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  among 
the  raw  and  untrained  volunteers,  thus,  by  a  wide  dissemi 
nation  of  the  trained  and  disciplined  element,  thoroughly 


410  LIFE  OF  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

impregnating  every  branch  of  the  volunteer  army  with  ex 
perienced  and  accomplished  soldiers.  By  this  means,  one 
or  two  commissioned  officers  and  ten  or  twelve  non-commis 
sioned  officers  and  privates  of  the  old  army  could  have  been 
put  into  each  new  regiment.  .The  rebels  having  no  standing 
army  to  maintain,  pursued  exactly  this  course  with  their 
officers  educated  for  the  military  service,  and  although  they 
had  very  few,  comparatively,  their  army  for  the  first  two 
years  of  the  war  was  under  much  better  general  discipline 
than  ours.  To  be  sure,  the  Southern  people  had  been  pre 
paring  for  this  outbreak  for  several  years  before  it  actually 
took  place,  but  the  only  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  effi 
cacy  with  which  they  conducted  operations  at  first  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  they  wisely  used  their  trained  officers 
in  the  organization  and  command  of  new  troops,  while  the 
National  Government  studiously  pursued  just  the  opposite 
policy.  I  So  rigidly  was  this  system  adhered  to  that  not  till 
after  Grant  became  Lieutenant-General  did  he  have  the 
assistance  of  trained  military  men  even  upon  his  staff*. 

McClellan  has  been  much  praised  for  the  organization  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  while  it  is  not  our  intention 
to  detract  from  his  deserts  on  that  account,  it  must  not  be  for 
gotten  that  in  his  greatest  performance  he  was  aided  by  those 
who  became  his  successors,  or  that  he  had  the  help  of  nine- 
tenths  of  the  trained  soldiers  in  the  Regular  Army  at  the  out 
break  of  the  war.  He  absorbed  the  best  of  everything, — 
officers,  troops,  arms,  ammunition  and  supplies  of  every  sort. 
His  infantry  was  commanded  by  Sumner,  Franklin,  W.  F. 
Smith,  Hooker,  Kearney,  Heintzleman,  Casey,  McCall,  Stone, 
Ord,  Meade,  Humphreys,  McDowell,  Keyes,  Fitz  John  Porter, 
French  and  Richardson  ;  his  cavalry,  by  Stoneman,  Cooke, 
Buford,  Emory,  Pleasonton,  Bayard  and  Averill ;  his  artillery, 
by  Barry,  Hunt,  Ayers,  Gibbon,  Griffin  and  a  galaxy  of 
younger  officers.  The  various  departments  of  the  staff  were 
presided  over  by  regular  officers,  many  of  whom  were  already 
distinguished  for  conspicuous  services,  including  among  their 
number,  Barnard,  Duane,  Michler,  Mendall  and  McComb  of 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  411 

the  Engineers ;  Ingalls,  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department ; 
Clarke,  of  the  Subsistence  Department ;  Letterman,  in  the 
Medical  Department ;  and  Seth  Williams  and  Marcy,  in  the 
Adjutant-General's  Department.  In  fact,  every  corps,  divis 
ion  and  brigade,  besides  many  a  regiment  and  battery, 
was  led  by  an  experienced  commander.  The  result  is  well 
known :  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  "  that  splendid  army  of 
citizen  soldiery,"  had  its  origin  in  this  organization,  and  for 
four  long  years  steadfastly  struggled  under  every  sort  of 
commander  till  it  finally  found  its  hero  in  the  Lieutenant- 
General,  and  gained  a  signal  triumph. 

But  fortunately  for  the  cause  of  free  Government,  there 
were  other  armies  in  the  field  whose  history  is  not  less  glori 
ous  than  that  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Buell  organ 
ized  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  whose  distinctive  feature 
was  rigid  discipline  and  methodical  performance  of  duty  ;  and 
although  its  commander  was  a  military  favorite  and  one  of 
the  prodigies  of  the  earlier  days  of  the  war,  he  was  permit 
ted  to  have  but  limited  assistance  from  the  regular  army.  His 
staff  officers  alone,  with  a  few  division  and  brigade  command 
ers  like  Thomas,  Wood,  Stanley,  McCook,  Hazen,  Terrell, 
and  Harker,  with  two  batteries  of  artillery  and  four  new 
regiments  of  infantry,  were  drawn  from  the  regular  army. 
The  case  with  Grant  was  incomparably  worse.  Sherman 
and  McPherson  were  the  only  graduates  of  the  military 
academy  who  were  permanently  identified  with  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee.  C.  F.  Smith  made  the  campaign  of  Fort 
Donelson  with  it ;  Eosecrans  that  of  Corinth  and  luka ; 
Sheridan  commanded  a  cavalry  regiment  in  it  for  a  while, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 
Wilson  belonged  to  the  staff,  and  Ord,  Sooy  Smith,  and 
Comstock,  and  several  inferior  officers  joined  it  during  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg ;  but  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
battalion  of  the  Thirteenth  (new)  infantry,  and  a  few  hun 
dred  of  the  First  infantry  during  the  Yicksburg  campaign, 
not  a  regiment  of  regular  soldiers  ever  formed  any  part  of 
its  columns.  It  was  made  up,  Generals  and  all,  of  raw 


412  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Western  volunteers,  with  no  knowledge  of  warfare  except 
that  derived  from  family  tradition  or  based  upon  their  mother 
wit ;  and  no  military  training  except  in  the  use  of  the  rifle. 
Having  served  with  all  these  armies  and  had  ample  oppor 
tunities  of  observing  their  habitual  deportment  in  cam-p,  on 
the  march  and  in  battle,  at  various  epochs  of  their  career, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  speak  unhesitatingly. 

In  the  routine  and  detail  of  duty,  and  in  the  minor  matters 
of  discipline  and  organization,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
undoubtedly  superior  to  either  of  the  others.  But  in  the 
subordination  of  its  Generals,  in  the  promptitude,  zeal,  and 
energy  of  its  lower  officers ;  in  the  self-reliance,  earnestness 
and  physical  characteristics  of  its  rank  and  file,  in  short  in 
every  moral  military  quality,  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  has 
never  been  excelled.  No  General  ever  more  successfully 
impressed  his  own  character  upon  an  army  than  Grant  did 
his  upon  the  one  which  grew  up  so  silently  under  his  care. 
No  army  was  ever  more  loyal  to  its  Chief  or  more  clearly 
embodied  the  spirit  of  the  people  from  which  it  sprung.  It 
is  a  curious  fact,  too,  not  otherwise  sufficiently  accounted  for, 
that  it  is  the  only  army  organized  with  the  war,  and  con 
tinuing  in  existence  till  the  establishment  of  peace,  which,  as  a 
whole,  never  suffered  a  defeat.  Its  endurance  and  courage 
were  unconquerable,  so  much  so  that  before  the  war  had 
terminated,  it  came  to  be  a  boast  in  its  ranks  that  it  was 
sure  to  win  any  battle  that  lasted  over  one  day,  no  matter 
what  the  odds  or  who  the  enemy.  Officers  and  men  seemed 
to  be  endowed  with  the  gift  of  persistency  to  a  degree 
never  surpassed  except  by  their  commander.  As  an  organ 
izer  Grant's  reputation  must  continue  to  increase  the  more 
his  performances  in  this  direction  become  known. 

The  attention  of  the  reader  has  already  been  called  to  his 
recommendation  of  a  united  command  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  to  the  tardy  action  of  the  Government  in  carry 
ing  this  recommendation  into  effect.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
now  to  say  that  this  combination  was  the  foundation  of  all  our 
substantial  victories,  not  only  in  the  West,  but  throughout 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  413 

the  entire  theatre  of  war.  Fort  Donelson  was  won  by  celer 
ity,  audacity  and  heroic  resolution.  Shiloh,  by  stubborn 
fighting  and  unconquerable  heroism.  Vicksburg,  by  the 
most  brilliant  and  original  strategy,  by  rapid  marching,  judi 
cious  combination  and  self-reliance,  which  remind  one  of 
the  invasion  of  Russia  by  Charles  XII.,  or  of  the  vigor  dis 
played  in  Bonaparte's  campaign  of  179G;  but  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  Charles  lost  his  army  at  Pultowa,  and  that 
Bonaparte  did  not  cut  loose  from  his  base  and  plunge  head 
long  into  the  interior  of  the  hostile  country ;  but  by  a  judicious 
and  well-formed  plan  of  operations  he  broke  through  the 
enemy's  lines  at  such  a  point  as  to  retain  his  communications 
with  France  constantly  uninterrupted,  while  by  rapid  combi 
nations  and  severe  battles  he  drove  these  lines  before  him.  But 
Grant,  in  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  boldly  threw  himself  into 
the  midst  of  hostile  forces,  leaving  an  army  entirely  behind 
him,  until  he  had  seized  the  most  important  point  in  the 
theatre  of  operations,  and  then  turned  upon  and  defeated  that 
army,  and  drove  it  into  the  fortifications  from  which  it  was 
destined  never  to  emerge  except  at  the  will  of  its  conqueror. 
The  closing  victories  of  the  war  were  won  by  a  rare  combi 
nation  of  military  agencies.  The  consolidation  of  four  vast 
territorial  departments  into  one  grand  military  division, 
enabled  Grant  to  concentrate  at  Chattanooga  a  splendid 
army,  heavily  out-numbering  the  enemy,  and  it  should  be 
remembered  that  Providence  favors  strong  battalions.  By 
a  series  of  strategic  and  grand  tactical  combinations,  these 
superior  numbers  were  so  directed  upon  the  field  of  battle  as 
to  take  the  enemy  at  disadvantage,  striking  him  in  flank,  and 
Actually  getting  closer  to  his  base  of  supplies  than  his  base 
was  to  his  own  head-quarters. 

The  Atlanta  campaign  and  the  march  to  the  sea ;  the 
selection  of  Sheridan  and  the  formation  of  the  middle  mili 
tary  division  ;  the  consolidation  of  the  Western  cavalry ;  the 
establishment  of  the  military  division  of  the  West  Mississippi, 
under  Canby,  followed  by  the  campaign  of  Mobile ;  Sher 
man's  grand  holiday  excursion  and  picnic  party  through  the 


414  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 

Carolinas,  again  severing  the  Southern  territory,  isolating 
and  scattering  its  armies,  breaking  its  communications  and 
eating  out  the  vitals  of  the  Confederacy ;  and,  lastly,  but  not 
least,  the  magnificent  campaign  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
from  the  Eapidan  to  the  James,  and  from  Petersburg  to  Ap- 
pomattox  Court  House,  bear  ample  testimony  not  only  to  the 
grandeur  of  Grant's  conceptions,  but  to  the  heroic  and 
unshakable  resolution  with  which  he  carried  them  into  effect. 
There  was  no  defeat  in  all  this,  no  hesitation,  no  doubting, 
but  the  clearest  comprehension  of  the  ends  to  be  aimed  at, 
the  most  careful  preparation  of  materials,  and  the  most  per 
fect  confidence  m  the  men  and  means  by  which  they  were 
to  be  attained.  No  modern  General  except  Bonaparte  ever 
wielded  such  vast  and  prolonged  power;  and  not  even 
that  great  conqueror  displayed  such  remarkable  sagacity  in 
his  organizations  and  selections  of  subordinates.  Massena 
and  Soult  were  driven  from  Spain ;  McDonald  was  over 
whelmed  at  Katzbach ;  Marmont  was  defeated  at  Mont- 
martre ;  and  Napoleon  himself  was  driven  from  Eussia,  beaten 
at  Leipsic,  and  finally,  after  a  series  of  unaccountable  blun 
ders,  was  hurled  from  his  throne,  recovering  it  again  only  to 
repeat  his  blunders  and  meet  an  ignominious  fate. 

But  Grant  knew  that  no  genius,  however  remarkable, 
could  sufficiently  command  the  national  armies  in  a  war  of 
such  magnitude  without  the  assistance  of  lieutenants  who 
could  be  trusted  "  to  make  their  own  orders  "  for  the  emer 
gencies  that  were  sure  to  arise.  He  therefore  gave  more 
thought  to  the  proper  organization  and  direction  of  armies 
upon  the  vital  points  of  the  enemy's  territory  and  lines,  and 
to  the  selection  of  men  competent  to  command  them,  than  to 
issuing  the  detailed  orders  of  battle.  Neither  Sherman,  nor 
Sheridan,  nor  Thomas,  nor  Canby  ever  failed  him,  and  had 
circumstances  enabled  him  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  he  would  doubt 
less  have  displayed  as  much  skill  in  the  tactics  of  battle  as 
he  did  in  the  strategy  of  campaigns. 

The  quick  judgment  by  which  he  discovered  the  enemy's 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  415 

plan  to  evacuate  Fort  Donelson,  and  the  sudden  resolution 
which  he  based  thereupon,  to  attack  at  once,  are  evidences 
of  something  more  than  aggressive  temper  or  mere  brute 
courage.  The  tactics  of  Lookout  Mountain,  Chattanooga 
Valley  and  Mission  Eidge  have  never  been  surpassed.  The 
tactics,  or  more  properly,  the  grand  tactics  displayed  during 
the  overland  campaign,  are  worthy  of  the  highest  commenda 
tion,  and  had  the  execution  of  details  been  as  faultless  as  the 
conception  of  the  movements,  there  would  have  been  nothing 
to  regret.  But  it  was  precisely  in  the  details  with  which 
Grant  studiously  avoided  interfering  that  the  greatest,  and  in 
fact  the  only  failures  took  place.  Grant's  conduct  at  Bel- 
mont,  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  Yicksburg,  and  in  the  Wil 
derness,  was  all  that  could  have  been  wished,  and  shows, 
beyond  chance  of  dispute,  that  he  possesses,  in  the  highest 
degree,  that  "  two-o'clock-in-the-morning  courage "  which 
Napoleon  declared  to  be  the  rarest  thing  among  Generals ; 
while  his  conception  and  execution  of  the  Vicksburg  cam 
paign,  are  complete  proof  that  his  judgment  is  in  exact 
equilibrium  with  his  courage.  His  unvaried  course  of  suc 
cess  through  four  years  of  warfare,  shows  that  he  is  en 
titled  to  be  ranked  in  the  category  of  Generals  who  never 
lost  a  campaign  or  a  battle,  and  the  easy  simplicity  with 
which  he  did  the  most  extraordinary  things  points  strongly 
to  the  possession  of  a  remarkable  genius  for  war. 


CHAPTER     XXXIX. 

GRANT  AS  A  STATESMAN — HIS  MILITARY  GENIUS  CONCEDED — HIS  CIVIC 
TALENTS  DISPUTED — THE  TRUE  THEORY — POLITICIANS  AND  OF 
FICE-HOLDERS  NOT  NECESSARILY  STATESMEN — GRANT  COMPARED 
WITH  EMINENT  CIVILIANS — A  COMPARISON  WITH  SOLDIER-STATES 
MEN,  LIKE  WASHINGTON,  KNOX,  JACKSON,  AND  TAYLOR — HIS  EDU 
CATION  AND  MENTAL  TRAITS  SUPPLY  THE  LACK  OF  EXPERIENCE 
IN  CIVIL  AFFAIRS — HIS  CIVIL  SERVICES  DURING  AND  SINCE  THE 
WAR — WASHINGTON'S  DISCIPLINE  IN  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  ERA — 
GRANT'S  DISCIPLINE  IN  THE  LATE  REBELLION —SUCH  CONVULSIONS, 
PREPARATORY  SCHOOLS  FOR  STATESMEN  —  PROOFS  OF  GRANT'S 
CIVIL  AND  ADMINISTRATIVE  ABILITIES,  AND  OF  HIS  CAPACITY  AS 
A  STATESMAN. 

THE  number  of  persons  is  small  indeed  who  will  not  con 
cede  that  General  Grant  possesses  military  genius  of  the 
highest  order.  Steadily  winning  his  way  upward  from  a  Col 
onelcy  to  the  command  of  a  district,  and  thence  to  the  con 
trol  of  a  department,  and  ultimately  to  the  head  of  the  entire 
forces  of  the  nation,  he  directed  the  movements  of  more  than 
a  million  of  men,  divided  into  many  armies,  and  spread  over 
an  area  larger  than  Western  and  Central  Europe.  In  all 
branches  of  the  service  his  companions  in  arms  have,  with 
one  accord,  conceded  to  him  the  highest  place. 

After  the  capture  of  Corinth  he  was  consulted  by  the 
War  Department  and  the  President  in  regard  to  all  army 
movements  in  the  Western  States,  and  his  plans  were  adopted 
with  scarcely  an  exception.  After  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  his 
advice  in  respect  to  military  operations  throughout  the  coun 
try  was  constantly  sought  at  Washington,  and  his  advice  was 
influential  till  the  close  of  the  war.  When  the  rebellion  sue- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  417 

cumbed,  hejalone  prescribed  the  terms  under  which  all  the 
Confederate  forces  laid  down  their  arms — terms,  whose  gen 
erosity  surprised  the  insurgents,  and  whose  wisdom  is  vindi 
cated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  three  years  that  have  since 
intervened,  and  which  have  been  characterized  by  great  civil 
commotions  in  the  unreconstructed  States,  not  a  rebel  officer 
has  lifted  his  sword,  nor  a  rebel  soldier  resumed  his  musket. 

While  so  much  will  be  freely  admitted  respecting  his 
military  genius  and  services,  it  is  contended  in  some  quarters 
that  General  Grant  has  given  no  evidence  that  he  possesses 
statesman-like  abilities.  In  reply  to  this  it  might  be  insisted 
that  to  accomplish  the  great  objects  we  have  enumerated, 
required  something  in  addition  to  mere  soldierly  qualities, 
and  that  the  tasks  were  of  such  a  complex  character  that 
their  successful  performance  demanded  the  talents  of  a  states 
man  not  less  than  those  of  a  warrior. 

The  advocates  of  the  contrary  theory  will,  in  proof  of  their 
assertion,  cite  the  fact  that  Grant  has  never  held  civil  offices 
of  trust  and  influence  ;  that  he  has  never  been  a  member  of 
a  legislative  body,  nor  the  Governor  of  a  State,  nor  repre 
sented  his  country  at  foreign  courts,  nor  conducted  diplomatic 
correspondence,  nor  been  accustomed  to  address  popular 
assemblies  on  public  questions,  nor  even  mingled  in  politics. 
All  this  must  be  admitted.  Grant  has  never  been  an  office 
holder,  nor  an  office-seeker,  nor  a  partisan  politician.  He  has 
issued  orders  for  the  government  of  millions  of  men  through 
years  of  peculiar  peril,  but  he  has  never  delivered  a  speech 
in  Congress,  nor  shone  as  a  stump-orator.  He  has  planned 
campaigns,  proclaimed  truces,  received  the  capitulation  of 
cities,  and  negotiated  the  terms  of  surrender  of  an  armed 
Confederacy,  but  he  has  never  waited  in  the  presence  cham 
ber  of  Kings,  nor  wearied  the  patience  of  Ambassadors  with 
vapid  diplomatic  dispatches.  His  genius  has  been  invoked 
to  save  a  Republic  of  forty  millions  of  people  in  war,  and  his 
wisdom  to  reconstruct  a  shattered  Union  of  thirty-seven 
States  in  peace,  but  he  has  never  sent  an  annual  message  to 
a  Legislature  nor  to  the  Common  Council  of  a  city. 


418  LIFE   OF   ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

Those  who  would  measure  the  extent  of  one's  abilities  as 
a  statesman  by  the  number  of  offices  he  has  held,  should 
remember  that  Washington,  Franklin,  Knox,  Hamilton,  Jack 
son,  Taylor  and  Lincoln  had  never  had  much  official  train 
ing  or  experience  of  any  sort  in  civil  affairs,  and  especially 
in  legislation,  till  they  were  called  to  discharge  the  highest 
civic  trusts.  Knox  and  Hamilton  went  almost  directly  from 
the  camp  into  the  Cabinet  of  Washington ;  Lincoln  had  only 
served  a  single  term  in  the  lower  branch  of  Congress  when 
he  was  summoned  to  the  Executive  Mansion;  and  Taylor 
cast  his  first  vote  at  the  polls  at  the  election  when  he  himself 
was  a  successful  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  Though  en 
thusiastic  parties  rallied  around  Washington,  Jay,  Madison, 
Monroe,  Wirt,  Tompkins,  Jackson,  Calhoun  and  Taylor,  and 
bore  them  into  office,  they  were  never,  in  the  popular  accep 
tation  of  the  term,  politicians  ;  they  never  breathed  the  fetid 
air  of  the  caucus ;  they  never  addressed  political  meetings  ; 
but  their  countrymen,  testing  their  character  and  achievements 
by  no  such  narrow  standard,  have  ranked  them  among  the 
great  statesmen  of  their  times. 

Now,  we  are  not  claiming  that  Grant  is  the  equal  of  all 
these  eminent  civilians,  but  only  citing  their  lives  to  show 
that  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  that  men  do  not  possess 
statesman-like  qualities,  merely  because  they  are  not  partisan 
politicians  or  have  not  been  trained  in  a  particular  routine 
of  civil  employments.  It  would  be  thought  flattery  to  assert 
that  Grant  is  the  peer  of  many  of  the  distinguished  characters 
just  named ;  but  he  is  certainly  entitled  to  a  place  in  that 
class  of  public  men  of  whom  Franklin,  Knox,  Jackson,  Taylor 
and  Lincoln,  were  illustrious  types. 

It  hardly  admits  of  a  question  that  his  education  was 
better  adapted  to  fit  him  for  statesmanship,  than  that  afforded 
by  most  of  the  higher  grade  of  colleges  in  this  country. 
The  academy  at  West  Point,  not  only  thoroughly  tests  and 
trains  the  intellectual  faculties,  but  its  routine  of  studies 
embraces  law  in  its  application  to  the  ruling  of  States,  the 
history  of  nations,  political  economy,  the  Federal  Constitution 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  419 

and  the  general  science  of  civil  government.  He  passed  the 
severe  ordeal  of  the  academy  with  great  credit.  Moreover, 
he  possesses  in  large  measure  those  native  qualities  and  culti 
vated  habits,  which  enable  one  to  supply  deficiencies,  result 
ing  from  want  of  experience  in  the  conduct  of  civil  affairs. 
He  has  quickness  of  apprehension,  breadth  of  comprehension, 
patient  industry,  persistency  of  purpose,  self-reliance,  and 
common  sense ;  and,  better  even  than  these,  he  has  had  a 
seven  years'  discipline  in  one  of  the  greatest  schools  of  modern 
times,  wherein  he  has  been  constantly  engaged  in  dealing  with 
some  of  the  most  important  and  intricate  concerns,  political 
and  military,  ever  entrusted  to  the  care  of  a  civilian  or  a 
soldier. 

Grant  entered  this  incomparable  school  on  the  firing  of  the 
signal-gun  at  Sumter.  Through  the  earlier  portion  of  these 
seven  years,  he  was  one  of  its  most  assiduous  and  apt  scholars. 
For  the  remainder  of  the  period,  he  was  one  of  its  ablest 
and  most  successful  masters.  He  who  regards  him  as  a 
mere  soldier  in  an  era  so  crowded  with  civil,  social,  financial, 
and  military  events  of  the  first  magnitude,  takes  a  narrow 
and  one-sided  view  of  the  part  he  performed  in  this  grand 
chapter  of  the  world's  history. 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  distinguished  military  chieftains, 
that  their  achievements  in  the  field  so  attract  and  dazzle  the 
eye,  that  observers  are  wont  to  overlook  their  less  brilliant 
but  ofttimes  equally  valuable  services  in  dealing  with  politi 
cal  subjects  and  matters  of  a  quasi  civil  nature.  Viewed  in 
this  aspect,  Grant's  position  is  not  unlike  that  of  Wellington, 
whom,  it  may  be  remarked,  he  somewhat  resembles  in  the 
salient  points  of  his  character.  The  political  aid  rendered 
by  Wellington  to  the  cause  of  the  allies  during  the  five  years 
he  commanded  in  the  Spanish  Peninsula,  was  as  important  as 
his  military  campaigns.  Though  the  British  Cabinet  knew 
that  throughout  these  five  years,  much  of  his  time  and  pa 
tience  were  spent  in  healing  the  strife  of  political  factions, 
regulating  the  administration  of  justice,  counseling  with  the 
feeble  and  impracticable  Ministers  of  Portugal,  and  dictating 


420  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

a  policy  to  the  proud  and  implacable  grandees  of  Spain,  it 
was  not  till  long  afterwards  that  these  facts  became  known  to 
even  his  well  informed  fellow  subjects,  who  had  only  recog 
nized  him  on  that  theater  of  his  exploits,  as  the  hero  of  Vim- 
eira,  Talavera  and  Vittoria,  just  as  the  masses  of  our  citizens, 
not  aware  of  Grant's  civil  services  during  the  past  five  years, 
only  know  him  as  the  conqueror  at  Donelson,  Vieksburg, 
Chattanooga  and  the  Appomattox. 

The  like  statement  may  be  made  respecting  General  Scott. 
His  military  record  is  all  aglow  with  brilliant  deeds.  But 
his  civil  labors  were  hardly  less  important  than  these,  though 
for  years  they  were  unknown  to  the  great  majority  of  his 
countrymen.  Throughout  his  life  he  was  a  skillful  negotia 
tor,  and  apt  at  dealing  with  embarrassing  public  questions, 
more  than  once  by  his  informal  intervention  averting  the 
calamities  of  war.  But  Scott  lived  so  long  that  his  fellow- 
citizens  became  familiar  with  his  good  deeds  as  a  pacificator, 
and  they  now  revere  his  memory  not  less  for  these  than  for 
his  more  dazzling  exploits  in  Jhe  field. 

In  suggesting  this  comparison  between  Grant  and  the  two 
distinguished  soldiers  just  mentioned,  it  need  hardly  be  added 
that  the  parallel  does  not  run  on  all-fours  ;  for  it  would  be 
absurd  to  imagine  that  in  all  particulars  he  was  the  counter 
part  of  two  men  who  but  slightly  resembled  each  other ;  and 
as  we  have  seen,  as  a  soldier  he  is  greatly  superior  to  either. 
But  there  were  points  in  the  character  of  Wellington  and  Scott 
beside  those  already  named,  which  bear  a  striking  likeness 
to  traits  in  the  character  of  Grant. 

Like  "Wellington,  Grant  is  reserved  in  manner  and  speech ; 
apt  to  give  dry,  curt  answers  to  those  who  would  pry  into 
his  thoughts ;  accustomed  to  state  the  conclusions  at  which 
he  has  arrived  without  detailing  the  mental  processes  through 
which  he  reached  them ;  thoroughly  digesting  plans  in  his 
own  mind  ere  he  announces  them  to  others  ;  accurate  in  his 
estimate  of  character,  so  that  in  selecting  his  subordinates 
and  coadjutors  he  intuitively  puts  "the  right  man  in  the 
right  place ;  "  with  a  cool  and  impassive  exterior,  through 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  421 

which,  however,  there  occasionally  bursts  a  glowing  phrase, 
hot  from  the  heart,  that  becomes  a  talisman,  like,  "  I  shall 
fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer,"—  an  echo  of 
the  slogan  at  Waterloo,  "  Up  guards,  and  at  them !" 

Though  Scott  was  one  of  the  most  vain  and  loquacious  of 
men,  and  Grant  is  one  of  the  most  retiring  and  taciturn, 
Grant,  like  him,  has  rare  tact  in  conducting  difficult  negotia 
tions  to  a  successful  termination.  It  is  universally  conceded 
that  Scott  excelled  in  this  respect.  A  striking  illustration  of 
Grant's  skill  therein  was  shown  in  the  happy  manner  in 
which  he  disentangled  the  meshes  wherein  General  Sherman 
had  become  involved  in  the  terms  of  surrender  he  proposed 
to  General  Johnston  in  April,  1864:  Destitute  of  accu 
rate  information,  because  of  his  isolation  in  the  heart  of  the 
enemy's  country,  the  terms  he  had  tendered  did  not  comport 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Government.  These  terms  were 
promptly  disavowed  and  countermanded,  by  the  civil  author 
ities  at  Washington.  Deeming  himself  rudely  treated,  his 
pride  was  wounded,  his  warm  blood  was  inflamed,  and  the 
hero  of  the  "  the  grand  march  to  the  sea,"  was  in  a  state  of 
extreme  irritation.  In  this  unpleasant  condition,  Grant  was 
despatched  to  North  Carolina  to  settle  the  matter.  After 
mutual  explanations  and  a  thorough  survey  of  the  field  of 
controversy,  the  high-spirited  victor  promptly  and  heartily 
yielded  to  the  views  of  his  calm  and  modest  commander. 
The  friendship  of  Grant  and  Sherman,  so  dissimilar  in  every 
prominent  trait  of  their  characters — a  friendship  tested  by 
rare  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  growing  stronger  with  every 
trial — -is  one  of  the  most  interesting  facts  of  its  kind  which 
the  war,  so  fruitful  in  striking  incidents,  has  brought  forth. 

Resuming  the  thread  of  our  narrative,  we  shall  find  that 
during  the  last  two  years  of  the  war,  and  more  especially  in 
the  winter  of  1863—64,  no  important  civil  measure  bearing 
on  the  rebellion,  was  initiated  by  the  Government  without 
Grant's  judgment  thereon  being  invoked  by  the  Cabinet ; 
and  the  opinions  of  no  one  man,  not  actually  in  high  political 
office,  were  more  carefully  considered  or  generally  adopted, 


422  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT. 

than  his.  In  the  winter  of  1864-5,  when  it  became  apparent 
that  the  rebellion  was  about  to  yield,  and  it  was  of  vast  im 
portance  that  all  our  civil  as  well  as  military  measures  should 
be  so  shaped  as  to  contribute  to  that  result,  his  proximity  to 
the  seat  of  Government,  made  him  a  frequent  participant  in 
the  Counsels  of  the  Cabinet  and  in  conferences  with  lead 
ing  members  of  Congress ;  and  his  unimpassioned  and  saga 
cious  advice  essentially  aided  in  moulding  a  policy  wherein 
energy  and  conciliation  were  wisely  combined. 

In  the  three  years  that  have  transpired  since  the  war  ter 
minated,  Grant,  as  Commander-in-Chief,  and  for  five  months  as 
Secretary  of  War,  has  been  required  to  deal  constantly  with 
civil  matters,  of  the  most  rare,  complex,  and  delicate  char 
acter,  deeply  affecting  not  the  South  only,  but  the  entire 
country.  In  the  discharge  of  his  high  duties,  he  has  never 
forgotten  that  he  was  a  citizen  as  well  as  a  soldier,  and  has 
wielded  his  vast  powers  rather  as  a  civil  magistrate,  than  as 
a  military  commander.  The  nature  of  these  services  is  under 
stood.  Their  extent  and  value  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
The  unimpeachable  and  enduring  record  of  his  acts  bears 
testimony  to  the  zeal,  urbanity,  patience  and  ability  with 
which  he  has  executed  his  responsible  trusts. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts,  can  it  be  affirmed  that  General 
Grant  has  no  statesman-like  qualities  ?  Rather  do  they  prove 
that  he  possesses  a  capacity  for  civil  affairs  which  needs  but 
the  pressure  of  duty  and  the  occurrence  of  opportunity  to 
exhibit  rare  administrative  abilities. 

It  has  been  an  axiom  in  American  history,  that  to  the 
training  which  Washington,  Knox,  and  Hamilton,  for  exam 
ple,  received  in  the  .Revolutionary  War,  and  in  the  inter 
vening  period  down  to  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Consti 
tution,  were  mainly  due  those  qualities  that  so  admirably 
fitted  them  to  discharge  the  duties  which  devolved  upon 
them  after  the  new  Government  went  into  full  operation. 
And  is  it  not  safe  to  infer,  nay,  fair  to  insist,  that  long  and 
thorough  discipline  in  the  events  of  our  late  war,  and  varied 
experience  in  handling  those  still  pending  and  unsettled  ques- 


LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S.  GRANT.  423 

tions  which  have  resulted  therefrom,  are  quite  as  necessary 
to  prepare  a  ruler  for  the  wise  administration  of  national 
affairs  for  a  few  years  to  come,  as  it  was  necessary  in  the 
analogous  case  of,  the  revolutionary  era,  to  train  Washington 
and  his  compeers  for  the  discharge  of  the  political  respon 
sibilities  ultimately  imposed  upon  them  ? 

Rather  may  we  insist  that  such  a  training  and  discipline 
are  more  necessary  for  the  public  men  of  our  times  than  they 
were  for  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic  in  their  day.  The  con 
test  of  1776  was  a  war,  practically,  between  foreign  nations, 
divided  by  the  ocean.  Ours  was  a  civil  conflict,  between  the 
citizens  of  one  country.  When  the  -Revolutionary  War 
closed,  the  defeated  party  retired  to  its  home  beyond  the 
seas,  leaving  the  whole  body  of  our  people  to  rejoice  as  vic 
tors,  homogeneous  in  feeling  and  united  in  opinion.  But  the 
beaten  party  in  our  late  strife  are  Americans,  dwelling  side 
by  side  with  their  conquerors,  the  humiliation  that  followed 
their  defeat  being  aggravated  by  the  impoverishment  and 
ruin  that  have  resulted  from  their  wild  crusade.  Through 

O 

the  term  of  the  next  National  Administration  the  subjects  that 
will  press  upon  the  public  attention  and  demand  solution  and 
adjustment,  spring  directly  out  of,  and  in  truth  are  part  and 
parcel  of  the  same  subjects  which,  during  the  administrations 
of  Lincoln  and  Johnson,  have  agitated  the  councils  and 
shaped  the  destinies  of  the  American  people,  whether  dwell 
ing  in  the  North  or  in  the  South. 

During  both  of  these  administrations,  the  clear  mind  and 
strong  hand  of  Grant  have  been  employed  in  devising  and 
executing  the  plans  and  measures  that  carried  the  nation 
through  its  perils  in  war,  and  have  secured  to  it  so  much  of 
peace  and  prosperity  as  it  now  enjoys.  In  view,  then,  of  the 
present  condition  of  the  country,  and  of  the  peculiar  charac 
ter  of  the  calamities  that  afflict  it,  and  the  dangers  that  beset  it, 
and  of  the  complexity  and  delicacy  of  the  political  and  mili 
tary  problems  that  will  demand  solution  in  the  immediate 
future,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  employments  and  expe 
riences  of  Grant,  through  the  seven  years  wherein  these 


424  LIFE    OF    ULYSSES    S,  GRANT. 

grand  events  were  passing  across  the  stage  of  history,  have 
more  thoroughly  prepared  him  for  wisely  and  safely  guiding 
the  nation,  than  could  twenty  years  spent  in  the  ordinary 
routine  of  civil  offices  of  even  the  highest  grades. 

Standing  at  the  close  of  the  eventful  epoch  we  have  been 
surveying,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  affirm,  that  to  play  the 
part  in  this  great  drama  which  Grant  has  performed,  has 
required  talents  of  a  very  different  kind,  if  not  of  a  higher 
grade,  than  those  which  produce  the  mere  soldier,  however 
illustrious.  His  enlightened  counsels,  the  actual  services  he 
rendered  in  regard  to  civil,  social,  legal  and  financial  matters 
of  unprecedented  character  and  transcendent  importance, 
affecting  the  interests  of  large  populations  and  the  destinies 
of  powerful  States,  prove  that  he  possesses  abilities  and 
attainments  that  entitle  him  to  a  place  among  the  wise  and 
prudent  statesmen  of  the  country. 


Marshall's  Line  Engraved 

PORTRAIT  OF  GEN.  GRANT. 


MESSRS.  TICKNOR  AND  FIELDS  take  pleasure  in  placing  before  the  Ameri 
can  people  this  superb  Engraving,  which  must  be  regarded  as  the  only  authen 
tic  and  satisfactory  portrait  yet  produced  of  General  Giant.  It  is  from  the 
same  hand  that  executed  those  portraits  of  WASHINGTON  and  LINCOLN  which 
have  taken  rank  among  the  masterpieces  of  lineal  art ;  and  it  is  confidently 
believed  that  this  likeness  is  destined  to  become  the  historic  portrait  of  GEN 
ERAL  GRANT. 

The  engraving  has  been  made  from  Mr.  Marshall's  own  painting.  In  the 
execution  of  this  portrait,  the  artist  had  unusual  facilities  for  becoming 
acquainted  with  his  illustrious  subject,  and  obtained  numerous  sittings. 
As  a  portrait  of  General  Grant,  it  differs  widely  from  all  others ;  but  the  pub 
lishers  believe  that  it  is  at  once  the  best  and  the  truest  portrait  of  him  ;  and, 
as  corroborating  this  opinion,  they  invite  attention  to  the  following  testimo 
nials  from  persons  well  qualified  by  acquaintance,  taste  and  culture,  to  pro 
nounce  upon  the  merits  of  this  engraving  as  a  portrait,  and  as  a  work  of  art : 

[From  Mrs.  Grant.~\ 

WASHINGTON,  Feb.  25,  1868. 

MR.  W.  E.  MARSHALL — Dear  Sir:  I  am  delighted  with  your  splendid  engraving  of  my 
husband.  I  cannot  say  too  much  in  its  praise.  As  a  likeness  I  do  not  think  it  could  be  better, 
and  1  shall  always  prize  your  elegant  gift.  Yours  truly,  JULIA  D.  GRANT. 

{.From  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  of  111.,  the  intimate  friend  of  General  Grant.} 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  3,  1868. 

MESSRS.  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS — Gentlemen:  It  has  afforded  me  great  pleasure  to  s>ee  and  ex 
amine  an  artist-proof  of  Marshall's  Line  Engraving  of  General  U.  S.  GRANT.  In  the  execu 
tion  of  the  work,  art  seems  to  have  achieved  its  highest  triumph.  The  likeness  is  most  perfect, 
and  the  wonderful  skill  displayed  by  the  artist  must  excite  the  warmest  admiration  of  all  lovers 
of  art  Very  truly,  yours  £c.,  E.  B.  WASHBURNE. 

[From  Senator  Stunner J\ 

SENATE  CHAMBER,  Feb.  18,  1868. 

GENTLEMEN — Lincoln  and  Grant  were  associated  in  a  great  crisis  of  history.  They  are  again 
associated  in  the  immortality  of  art.  The  same  talent  which  so  successfully  engraved  the  por 
trait  of  the  former,  now  gives  us  a  companion  portrait  of  the  other.  I  have  always  admired 
Marshall's  engraving  of  our  late  President,  and  now  have,  among  my  most  valued  possessions, 
the  first  proof  of  the  plate.  The  engraving  of  the  Commander  of  our  armies  is  not  less  admirable. 
It  is  a  rare  and  finished  work,  excellent  as  a  likeness,  and  altogether  worthy  of  a  place  in  any 
collection,  or  on  the  walls  of  any  house.  Faithfully  yours, 

MESSRS.  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS.  CHARLES  SUMNER. 


[From  Mr.   Curtis, .] 

NORTH  SHORE,  STATEN  ISLAND,  N.  Y.,  April  3,  1868. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : — I  thank  you  most  heartily  for  the  noble  and  satisfactory  portrait  of  General 
Grant.  The  same  force  and  fidelity,  the  same  exquisite  skill  and  delicacy  which  you  have  made 
us  all  admire  in  your  W.-^hington  and  Lincoln,  are  renewed  in  this  masterly  work.  It  shows  all 
that  simplicity,  tenacity,  sagacity,  modesty  and  moderation,  which  explain  Grant's  career,  and 
commend  him  so  closely  to  the  regard  and  respect  of  his  countrymen.  We  are  all  your  debtors 
again,  and  I  am  most  truly,  Your  obliged  friend  and  servant, 

MR.  MARSHALL.  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

[From  Mr.  Bryant.] 

NEW  YORK,  March  26,  1868. 

MESSRS.  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS— Dear  Sirs:—\  am  entirely  satisfied  with  the  portrait  of 
General  Grant,  engraved  by  W.  E.  Marshall,  from  a  portrait  painted  by  himself.  It  is  really  a 
noble  specimen  of  the  art  engraving.  It  is  admirable  as  a  likeness,  and  appears  to  me  to  give 
the  character  of  the  original,  more  perfectly  than  any  engraving  which  I  have  seen. 

I  am,  Sirs,  very  truly  yours,  VV.  C.  BRYANT. 

B3P"  This  Engraving  will  be  sold  by  subscription  only.     Agents  are  wanted  to  canvass  every 
town  of  the  United  States.     For  terms  and  territory  immediate  application  should  be  made. 
Address,  for  the  New  England  States,  nCKNOR  &  FIELDS    lU.sUm 
For  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  Ohio  and  Michigan,  i  ICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  No.  6.3 

For  the  Western  States,  except  Ohio  and  Michigan,  JOHN  H.  AMMON  Western  News 
Co.npany,  Chicago. 


AGENTS    WANTED. 


Energetic  men,  of  good  address,  are  wanted  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  to 
act  as  agents  for  the  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  U.  S.  GRANT,  by  C.  A.  Dana  and  General  J.  H. 
Wilson;  LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland;  SACRED  BIOGRAPHY  AND 
HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE  ;  HISTORY  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  AMERICA,  by  Rev.  J.  S.  C. 
Abbott ;  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  by  Hon.  J.  T.  Headiey;  and  other  popular  works,  which  are 
sold  only  by  subscription. 

Persons  wishing  an  agency,  can  obtain  full  particulars  by  applying  at  the  office  of  the  sub- 

GURDON    BILL  &  CO., 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS. 

JUST    PUBLISHED: 

Life  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 

THE  CONQUEROR  OF  THE  REBELLION  AND  GENERAL  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  ARMY, 

COMPRISING   A  COMPLETE  AND   ACCURATE 

History  of  liis  Eventful  and  Interesting  Career 

WITH 

ANECDOTES  OF  HIS  BOYHOOD,  HIS  EDUCATION  AT 
WEST  POINT, 

His  Gallant  Conduct  as  a  Young  Officer  in  Connection  with  the  War  with 

Mexico,  his  Resignation  from  the  Army,  Life  as  a  Farmer  near  St. 

Louis,  and  as  a  Leather  Dealer  at  Galena,  Illinois, 

UNTIL  THE 

i(]  A  ji/       ti 

|jrmltin0  f)ut  of  live  |pat  jfefcfe, 

•r  J  J  J 


WITH    AN    AUTHENTIC   NARRATIVE   OF 


HIS  INVALUABLE  MILITARY  SERVICES, 

INCLUDING    THE 

• 

Organization  of  Armies,  Battles,  Sieges,  Plans  of  Campaigns  and 
Achievements, 

Adding  also  an  impartial  estimate  of  his  character  as 

A  MAN,  A  SOLDIER,  and  A  STATESMAN. 

Containing  Splendid  Portrait  of  Grant,  and  numerous  Maps  and  Diagrams. 


By     CHARLES     A.      DANA, 

Late  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  and 

J.  H.  WILSON, 

Brevet  Major-General  United  States  Army. 


DESCRIPTIVE    CATALOGUE. 

HOLL  AN  D'S 

Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 

LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

COMPRISING   A   FULL  AND  COMPLETE 

HISTORY  OF  HIS  EVENTFUL  LIFE, 

WITH 

Incidents  of  his  Early  History,  his  Career  as  a  Lawyer  and  Politician,  his  Advancement  to  the 

Presidency  of  the  United  States  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy 

Through  the  Most  Trying  Period  of  its  History, 

TOGETHER  WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 

TRAGICAL     AND    MOURNFUL     SCENES 

Connected  with  the  Close  of  his  Noble  and  Eventful  laie. 

BY  DR.  J.  G    HOLLAND, 

The  widely  known  and  favorite  author  of  the  "  Timothy  Titcomb"  Letters,  "  Bitter  Sweet." 
"Gold  Foil,"  &c.,  &'c. 


The  author's  aim  will  be  to  describe  as  graphically  as  may  be  the  private  and  public  life  of 
the  humble  citizen,  the  successful  lawyer,  the  pure  politician,  the  .far-sighted  Christian  states 
man,  the  efficient  philanthropist,  and  the  honored  Chief  Magistrate.  The  people  desire  a 
biography  which  shall  narrate  to  them  with  a  measurable  degree  of  symmetry  and  completeness, 
the  story  of  a  life  which  has  been  intimately  associated  with  their  own  and  changed  the  course 
of  American  history  through  all  coming  time.  Such  a  narrative  as  this  it  will  be  the  author's 
aim  to  give — one  that  shall  be  sufficiently  full  in  detail  without  being  prolix,  and  circumstantial 
without  being  dull. 

The  work  will  be  published  in  a  handsome  Octavo  volume  of  about  five  hundred  and  fifty 
pages,  on  fine  paper,  printed  from  electrotype  plates,  and  will  be  embellished  by  an  elegant 
Portrait  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  a  finely  engraved  view  of  his  residence  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  and 
other  Steel  Engravings. 

The  work  will  also  be  issued  in  the  German  Language  at  the  same  price  of  the  English  edition. 

JUST   PUBLISHED: 

Sacred  Biography  and  History  of  the  Bible; 

OR, 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES ; 

CONTAINING 

descriptions  of  Palestine — Ancient  and  Modern;  I,ives  of 
the  ^Patriarchs,  Jfings  and  *Prophets,  and  of 

CHRIST     AND     THE    APOSTLES, 

TO   WHICH   ARE   ADDED 

Notices  of  the  Most  Eminent  Reformers,  Luther,   Melancthon,  Calvin,  etc.,  with  Interesting 

Sketches  of  the  Ruins  of  Celebrated  Ancient  Cities — Palmyra,  Nineveh,  etc., — 

mentioned  in  the  Sacred  Writings. 

EDITED  BY  OSMOND  TIFFANY, 

Author  of   "The  American  in   China,"    "Brandon,   or  a   Hundred  Years  Ago,"   etc. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NUMEROUS  AND  BEAUTIFUL  STEEL  ENGRAVINGS, 

In  One  Volume  of  over  600  Pages. 


THE    HISTORY 

OF   THE 

CIVIL  WAR  IN  AMERICA, 

COMPRISING   A   FULL  AND  IMPARTIAL  ACCOUNT   OF   THE 

ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS     OF    THE    REBELLION, 

OF   THE  VARIOUS 

NAVAL  AND  MILITARY  ENGAGEMENTS, 

t  OF    THE 

Heroic  Deeds  performed  by  Annies  and  Individuals, 

AND   OF      ' 

TOUCHING    SCENES    IN    THE    FIELD,    THE    CAMP,    THE    HOSPITAL, 
AND    THE    CABIN. 

BY    J.    S.    C.    ABBOTT, 

Author  of  the  "Life  of  Napoleon,"  "History  of  the  French  Revolution,"  "Monarchs  of 

Continental  Europe,"  &c. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH   DIAGRAMS  AND  NUMEROUS  STEEL  ENGRAVINGS,  OF  BATTLE  SCENES 
AND  PORTRAITS  OF   DISTINGUISHED   MEN,    BY  THE   BEST  ARTISTS. 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 

And  containing  over  1,100  large  Royal  Octavo  pages.  The  author  of  this  work  is  well 
known  as  one  of  the  most  talented  and  popular  historical  writers;  and  his  History  of 
the  Great  Rebellion  will  not  be  surpassed  in  merit  and  attractiveness  by  any  other  that 
may  be  offered  to  the  public. 

The  Illustrations  are  ail  from  original  designs,  Engraved  on  Steel,  by  the  best  Artists, 
expressly  for  the  work,  and  comprise  portraits  of  distinguished  commanders  and  ci 
vilians,  with  the  prominent  battle  scenes  by  sea  and  land. 

This  work  will  be  published  in  the  German  language  as  well  as  in  the  English. 

THE    ILLUSTRATED 

LIFE   OF  WASHINGTON, 

WITH 

VIVID    PEN-PAINTINGS    OF     BATTL.ES    AND    INCIDENTS,    TRIALS 

AND    TRIUMPHS    OF    THE    HEROES    AND    SOLDIERS    OF 

REVOLUTIONARY    TIMES. 

BY  HON.  J.  T.  HEADLEY, 

Author  of  '' Washington  and  his  Generals,"  "Napoleon  and  his  Marshals,"  "Sacred 
Mountains,"  Ac. 

TOGETHER  WITH   AN  INTERESTING   ACCOUNT  OF 

MOUNT  VERNON  AS  IT  IS, 

BY  BENSON  J.  LOSSING. 

The  whole  embellished  with   numerous   Steel  and  Wood   Engravings,  and   a 

splendid  Colored  Lithographic  View  of  Mount  Vernon 

and  Washington's  Tomb. 

This  beautiful  Royal  Octavo  volume  of  over  500  pages  embraces  a  brilliant  narration 
of  the  facts  and  incidents  in  the  life  of  that  remarkable  man.  and  Father  of  his  Coun 
try — George  Washington;  together  with  his  connection  with  the  Revolutionary  War.  Ac. 
Comprising  much  new  and  important  information,  derived  from  the  papers  o'f  General 
Putnam,  and  the  researches  of  Mr.  Leasing, — information  embraced  in  no  other  book. 

When  every  heart  throbs  with  enthusiastic  gratitude,  and  public  feeling  Ls  thoroughly 
aroused  towards  the  memory  of  Washington,  a  biography  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Headley, 
of  that  great  and  good  man.  is  of  peculiar  interest,  and  would  necessarily  be  in  great 
demand.  Already  thousands  of  copies  have  been  sold,  and  the  demand  "is  every  day 
increasing,  as  the  success  of  our  agents  abundantly  prove. 


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